A look ahead to all this weekend's action
Today
(2.30pm unless stated)
NFL Division Four
London v Wicklow, Ruislip, 1.30pm – Wicklow got off the mark last week and will double their points tally here.
Longford v Limerick, Pearse Park – A big match for Limerick, whose win last week was underwritten by a fine goalkeeping display by Brendan Moran. They should be able for an understrength home side.
Carlow v Waterford, Dr Cullen Park – Waterford have started well and this will be a test of their improved status but Carlow can edge it.
Leitrim v Kilkenny, Carrick-on- Shannon – Emlyn Mulligan's return will help Leitrim to a handsome victory.
Leinster Under-21 Football
Louth v Wexford, Dundalk – Contrasting warm-up results indicate that the experienced home side should win.
Westmeath v Kildare, Mullingar – With the seniors struggling Westmeath are more upbeat about this grade but will have their work cut out against the visitors.
NHL Division One
Tipperary v Kilkenny, Thurles, 7.30pm – The Allianz National Hurling League starts with a bang for a change, bringing together the game's top two for a fourth meeting in 12 months. Kilkenny have won the previous three but Tipp have been getting closer.
The home side are favourites finally to chalk up a victory although their pre-season form has been scarcely more persuasive than Kilkenny’s. But the holders are without their Ballyhale players and are probably playing a slower hand this season, as they set about becoming the only county ever to win five successive All-Irelands.
Both sides have work to do in freshening their line-outs and Brian Cody has consistently rewarded league performance whereas his opposite number Liam Sheedy has rejigged the defence to take a look at his options. Tipp have more motivation going into this and can take the points.
Tomorrow
(2.30pm unless stated)
NHL Division One
Limerick v Galway, Kilmallock – Despite tonight's summit meeting in Thurles it is the outcome of this fixture tomorrow that could prove more significant. Limerick's selection, stripped of nearly all last year's first-choice hurlers, face up to a Galway side which, if also understrength, is none the less ticking over sufficiently well to have banked the Walsh Cup even without the Portumna crew.
Kilmallock is a tighter pitch than the Gaelic Grounds but that will only be a detail, as the home side are exposed to the full blast of hurling at this level and the first of many post-mortem assessments.
Cork v Offaly, Páirc Uí Chaoimh – Offaly resume life at the top with an opening encounter against the side that put them out of the All-Ireland championship last year. They field a solid selection and will hope to be at least competitive.
There’s experience through much of the middle, with Paul Cleary, Ger Oakley the Birr pair of Rory Hanniffy and Dylan Hayden and Joe Bergin providing the spine. Cork have John Gardiner at centrefield where he has been in good pre-season form and give a debut to Glen Rovers full back David Cunningham.
With a clear run at the league unlike last year, Cork can start positively.
Waterford v Dublin, Walsh Park – This represents an opportunity for Dublin to take two very valuable points at the outset. Waterford are short a stack of regulars although having to trial newcomers eliminates the problem of ennui that more seasoned campaigners can succumb to at this time of the year.
David Fitzgerald’s team took the pre-season silverware in Munster and Dublin wintered positively enough even if they were cuffed by Galway in last week’s Walsh Cup final.
This represents a challenge though, as Maurice Shanahan is accurate from frees and Gary Hurney’s physical presence is particularly effective at this time of year. But Dublin are far closer to full-strength and can make that count.
NHL Division Two
Laois v Kildare, Portlaoise – Any win over Kilkenny is a good win for a Division Two team and Laois, in buoyant mood under Niall Rigney, should maintain the positive trend against newly promoted Kildare, who lost the Kehoe Cup final to Westmeath.
Clare v Down, Cusack Park, 1.30pm – With Michael McNamara's departure, Clare at least won't have to cope with as much of a backlash from their former manager's dismissive comments about the division.
Not that it would have mattered tomorrow against a Down team whose main ambition is survival.
Westmeath v Wexford, Cusack Park – A challenging enough fixture for Colm Bonnar's team, who despite topping last season's table lost promotion to Offaly in the divisional final.
Westmeath disappointed last year but have started the season well under former Offaly All-Ireland winner Kevin Martin.
Antrim v Carlow, Casement Park – Carlow beat Antrim just recently in the Walsh Shield, but Dinny Cahill, as he'll remember from his first stint in the county, faces the perennial problem of Antrim managers: the absence of key players involved in the club championship as Dunloy were until last week.
But Paul Shiels is on the way back from long-term injury and home advantage could swing this the Ulster side’s way.
NHL Division Three A
London v Meath, Ruislip, 1pm; Derry v Kerry, Celtic Park; Armagh v Mayo, Crossmaglen.
NHL Division Three B
Louth v Sligo, Clan na nGael; Tyrone v Donegal, Omagh; Fingal v Wicklow, Swords.
NHL Division Four
Monaghan v Fermanagh, Iniskeen; Cavan v Leitrim, Breffni Park; Longford v Down, Pearse Park.
All-Ireland Club SFC Semi-finals:
Corofin(Galway) v St Gall's(Antrim), Parnell Park – Ironically for a club that smashed the glass ceiling through which Connacht clubs swarmed in subsequent years, Corofin have underachieved on the big stage.
Despite having won 10 county titles in 19 years and five provincial championships, the Galway side have just one Croke Park appearance to their name, the successful campaign of 12 years ago.
St Gall’s are in sight of their second AIB All-Ireland club final in five seasons and are a better and more experienced team than that which tumbled to an agonising defeat to Corofin’s predecessors Salthill in the 2006 All-Ireland final.
It’s likely that the ambitious Belfast club froze for much of that final before just running out of road at the end of the match and they will have gained by the experience.
The pathway through Antrim wasn’t taxing for Gall’s but any club coming out of Ulster has instant credentials and the provincial campaign was tough and taxing, apart from the final when they ran amok against The Loup.
The mood around Corofin is pessimistic. At their best, the Galway champions are very much built from the back, with an array of inter-county talent, further strengthened by the return of former All Star Kieran Fitzgerald, but find scoring a bit of a chore.
A repeat of the 2006 final won 0-7 to 0-6 would for instance be regarded as a tasty prospect by Corofin but with the McGourtys and Rory Gallagher and Kevin Niblock on board the Antrim champions aren’t likely to be short up front even under pressure from a good defence. The Galway team will be missing four first-choice players, including their two stickiest man markers, Micheál Comer and Cathal Silke.
They’re not going to get blitzed but it’s hard to see Corofin holding their opponents to an achievable score.
Portlaoise(Laois) v Kilmurry- Ibrickane(Clare), Gaelic Grounds – Portlaoise have come through Leinster impressively allowing that the field wasn't the most demanding for a province that has housed the All-Ireland for the past two seasons.
The line-up isn’t as glittering as the club’s All-Ireland finalists of five years ago but it is a more unflappable collective. Up front Paul Cahillane has been having an excellent first championship since his return from full-time soccer.
Both defences have been mean, averaging around five points per match in the provincial championships but the Laois side have the advantage at the other end of the field where their attack is a lot more productive and that essential contrast will define the difference between the sides.
Connacht League SF Final
Mayo v Galway, Castlebar – A quick reacquaintance for the teams after Mayo's big win on the opening day of the league.
John O’Mahony’s none too pleased with the Mark Ronaldson citation by the CCCC and it’s likely the proposed suspension will be challenged, as the player will miss the same number of league matches either way.
Having got back on track in the NFL, Galway could achieve quick revenge here.
O’Byrne Cup (Leinster SF) Final
Louth v DCU, Drogheda – Louth's encouraging pre-season can be topped off by retaining the O'Byrne Cup even though the defeat in Sligo last week is a big setback in Division Three.
DCU put out Sigerson holders Cork IT and may be focusing on the upcoming finals weekend.
Leinster Under-21 Football
Wicklow v Longford, Aughrim – Wicklow can repeat last year's result against a Longford team that have struggled in the Hastings Cup.
