Dublin or Kerry? Our experts give their verdict on the All-Ireland football final

Seán Moran

Where will the game be won and lost?

Kerry’s centrefield has been coping without David Moran and they will be hoping that the Tyrone quarter-final, with Diarmuid O’Connor finally hitting his straps, is more of a guide than the last day. Jack Barry has tracked Brian Fenton to good effect in previous meetings but the latter looks to have rediscovered his best form. Control here complicates the supply going into David Clifford and empowers Dublin’s forwards. With James McCarthy and Brian Howard on hand to supplement Fenton, Dublin can and must impact here.

Who is the underrated player who could have a big impact?

Colm Basquel was shaping up remarkably as top scorer from play in the championship and his 2-2 blew Mayo out of it. Monaghan put a stop to that – so can Graham O’Sullivan, who had a fine final last year on Rob Finnerty, repeat the dose?

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Make your case for who you think will win.

Dublin. Kerry are now more experienced and Jack O’Connor’s acute match management equips them for the task. Old champions looking to pull off one last job aren’t necessarily the most reliable of prospects but the strengthening of the panel and Pat Gilroy’s influence have given Dublin an edge and momentum.

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Gordon Manning

Where will the game be won and lost?

Kick-outs and turnovers. David Clifford or Con O’Callaghan could turn on the magic and deliver match-winning displays, but their scores will still most likely have come as a result of high pressure, work rate and turnovers by colleagues further out the field. Kerry’s decision not to push up on Derry’s kick-out early on was a questionable tactic, so it will be interesting to see if they squeeze Stephen Cluxton from the off.

Both teams will have a high press following set plays – frees and 45s etc – but will they expend energy on going after restarts outside of that? Aside from winning the kick-out battle, the team which forces the most turnovers will have one hand on Sam.

Who is the underrated player who could have a big impact?

Jack McCaffrey.

Make your case for who you think will win

Dublin have a better spread of scoring forwards but Kerry have the best forward. And is Michael Fitzsimons marking David Clifford really a good matchup for Dublin? Kerry also have the ability to create overloads with Shane Ryan, while it’s unlikely Stephen Cluxton will be floating around the opposition 45. Dublin possibly have a stronger bench, but should Kerry merely break even on kick-outs and turnovers, then if they can supply Clifford with enough ball Sam Maguire returns to the Kingdom.

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Jim McGuinness

Where will the game be won and lost?

The matchups are key. I believe Dublin’s best chance of winning this game is to be bold in those matchups. For me, I would roll the dice and send James McCarthy to mark David Clifford. Everything this season for Dublin has been a rallying cry to get the team over the line. Curtailing Clifford is central to Sunday’s game and assigning that responsibility to McCarthy is to hand the biggest job to Dublin’s biggest player. I would select Michael Fitzsimons to mark Paul Geaney and have John Small picking up Seán O’Shea. Those match-ups would really take on Kerry’s three attacking forwards, while Eoin Murchan looks like the perfect fit to put Paudie Clifford on the back foot.

Who is the underrated player who could have a big impact?

Brian Howard

Make your case for who you think will win

If Dublin get their match-ups right then they have more around the edges than Kerry. But if they don’t and instead decide to play Russian roulette in the full-back line with David Clifford, anything can happen. Get the match-ups spot on and nullify Clifford, then Dublin will be more than halfway there.

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Malachy Clerkin

Where will the game be won and lost?

The subs’ bench. Stephen O’Brien changed the game for Kerry in the semi-final but he’s starting now, meaning they look even thinner beyond the first 15. Dublin’s cavalry isn’t quite what it was (in the 2017 final, they brought on Paul Flynn, Kevin McManamon, Diarmuid Connolly, Bernard Brogan, Niall Scully and Cormac Costello – good grief!) but it has more bodies you would trust in a crisis than Kerry’s.

Who is the underrated player who could have a big impact?

Shane Ryan took a while to convince the Kerry public of his mettle but he has settled into the goalkeeping role spectacularly, especially from pressured kick-outs. When the Dublin press comes on, he has to be quick and he has to be flawless.

Make your case for who you think will win

Kerry haven’t added anything new since last year. Dublin have added three of their shiniest golden nuggets and seen huge upticks in the form of Cormac Costello and Colm Basquel, a couple of players most of us had made our minds up about. Now, obviously David Clifford could render all of that moot. But the Dubs probably have the depth to absorb whatever total he hits. Dubs by two.

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Cora Staunton

Where will the game be won and lost?

Obviously, the middle third is crucial but you have to look at what feeds that. The goalkeepers have the biggest influence on that area. Both teams will press up at certain times and so it’s going to be down to Stephen Cluxton and Shane Ryan to handle that. Whoever has the better day and avoids disaster will probably be on the winning side.

Who is the underrated player who can have a big impact?

Paudie Clifford isn’t underrated but he hasn’t had his best championship. Kerry need him to shine in the final as he did against Galway last year to take the burden off his younger brother. For Dublin, I think Lee Gannon has been outstanding at both ends of the pitch.

Make your case for who you think will win

I want Kerry to win but I think Dublin will. I think we saw the real Dublin in that six-seven-minute spell against Mayo where they showed massive aggression and basically wiped out Mayo’s year. That’s what Cluxton, McCaffrey and Mannion came back for – one job, win the All-Ireland. I think they can do that for longer in the final and Kerry won’t be able to match it.

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Darragh Ó Sé

Where will the game be won and lost?

It may sound obvious but in terms of timing within the game itself, when it comes down to the last 10, 15 minutes, unless Kerry are already in a winning position, with their best players still on the pitch, and all playing to their best, it will be very difficult to hold Dublin in that endgame. That’s still their big strength.

Who is the underrated player who could have a big impact?

Con O’Callaghan is the most underrated player in this whole thing, because of the fact he hasn’t shot the lights out the way we’ve seen him do so many times in the past. He has the most scope for improvement of all the Dublin players, and that’s simply going by his own standards.

Make your case for who you think will win.

The closer the throw-in time comes, the more I think Kerry have a great chance here. But I am still leaning towards a Dublin win, as I have been since the start of the championship, especially considering the strength of their bench. It’s just hard to look beyond them.

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Ian O’Riordan

Where will the game be won and lost?

David Clifford. Even under the inestimable expectations he has the capacity to win the game for Kerry. Not single-handedly, naturally, but if Clifford can inspire and raise the game of the players around him, not least his brother Paudie, Kerry will win. His motivation will be soaring too – that captain’s armband will no doubt have a say.

Who is the underrated player who could have a big impact?

Paul Geaney has been quiet by his own past standards, still he brings considerable experience into this final and that will be telling. Given the obvious attention that will be given to David Clifford, Geaney is ideally positioned – and motivated too – to make his presence properly felt.

Make your case for who you think will win.

There is no denying Dublin have been impressive at times, particularly in that endgame against Monaghan in the semi-final. Dublin doing a Dublin. They also boast possibly the most All-Ireland medals on the bench in football history. Kerry however have enough innate killer instinct of their own to win – if they can call on it early enough and then regularly enough.

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Denis Walsh

Where will the game be won and lost?

Kerry won’t get away with being overrun at centrefield again, like they were in the semi-final. Regardless of Jack Barry’s fine record against Brian Fenton, Dublin could drop anchor in this sector.

If Dublin are to win, though, what kind of a total for David Clifford would represent a break-even situation? Clifford kicked four from play in the 2019 replay and Dublin still won; last year, he kicked four from play and one mark, in a low-scoring game that Dublin lost. He’s probably even better now.

Who is the underrated player that could make a big impact?

Tom O’Sullivan is the Kerry corner-back with the attacking flamboyance and penchant for kicking points but, under the radar, Graham O’Sullivan has been a consistent source of assists for David Clifford. Watch him.

Make your case for who you think will win.

The suggestion after the quarter-finals was that Dublin and Kerry were the smartest boys in the class, timing their form and fitness for Croke Park. The semi-finals exposed their feet of clay again. Dublin’s attack is no longer terrifying. Con O’Callaghan has been below his usual levels. Kerry are not exceptional either, but in a game of small margins the champions have Clifford. Simple.