Saturday
Division 1
Kerry v Galway, Austin Stack Park, Tralee, 5pm (Live, RTÉ2) – Both should be happy enough with their trips north last time out. Kerry’s shadow team was kept respectable in Donegal by a bravura shooting display from Seán O’Shea, even if there was a worrying injury to Seán O’Brien. Galway’s goals got them a prized win in Armagh, which could be an issue here if the visitors maintain their rate of creating opportunities and Kerry leave themselves as open as they did for Dáire Ó Baoill’s goal, but it’s likely that Jack O’Connor will strengthen up for this. Kerry may be targeting home matches for points and this is on their list. Verdict: Kerry
Dublin v Monaghan, Croke Park, 7pm (Live, TG4) – The two teams propping up the table meet, meaning Dublin can no longer look on their bafflingly poor record in the fixture as some sort of charming outlier. Ger Brennan needs these points even if the shot across the bows of established players constituted a wake-up call and he clearly means to continue to experiment. Monaghan’s struggles on returning to the top flight were not unforeseeable and injuries have exacerbated things but getting the Scotstown players back is a help, as Rory Beggan’s return in round two indicated. It’s still a daunting task for the Ulster team. Verdict: Dublin
Division 2
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Meath v Louth, Croke Park, 5pm – A rematch of last year’s Leinster final since when, Meath have maintained a steady trajectory upwards whereas the provincial champions have stalled somewhat. In fairness to Gavin Devlin, he has begun the process of rebuilding with some of last year’s under-20s. Meath have started very well and dug deep to win in Cavan. The form of Jack Flynn and Jordan Morris has also been compelling. Verdict: Meath
Kildare v Derry, St Conleth’s Park, 6.30pm – This could be a cracking encounter between two contending teams. Derry looked sunk after the Meath defeat but bounced back to beat Tyrone. Kildare have been surprise performers and are currently in the promotion frame, having shown excellent fight in Omagh. Derry’s first win in almost two years may liberate them but even so, this won’t be as easily won as it might have looked on the fixture schedule. Verdict: Derry
Division 3
Down v Westmeath, Páirc Esler, 6pm – A top-of-the-table contest as two of the three teams on maximum points meet. Down have slightly disappointed expectations a with tighter than hoped-for wins over Clare and Limerick but they beat Clare by the same margin as Westmeath, who had big outputs from Ronan Wallace and Sam McCartan. Verdict: Down
Laois v Sligo, O’Moore Park, 6pm – A difficult opening to the season for Laois, most recently a 14-point whacking in Wexford. Sligo have been relatively buoyant and had a good win over Fermanagh with Niall Murphy in good shooting form. Verdict: Sligo
Division 4
Waterford v Wicklow, Fraher Field, 6pm – Wicklow’s defeat in Carlow makes this mandatory. Waterford don’t look likely to stand in the way. Verdict: Wicklow
Sunday
Division 1
Donegal v Mayo, O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny, 1.45pm (Live, TG4) – The top two meet in an interesting test of their amended game plans. Donegal’s is the less radical reorientation but they have pressed higher to date – forcing a turnover free from a short kick-out against Kerry. Mayo are definitely pushing forward with far more abandon but conceded none goal chances against Galway and only looked comfortable after Dublin (wrongly, as it turned out) lost Sean McMahon to a red card. Manager Andy Moran has spoken about getting the balance right between attack and defence and Donegal looks the ideal place to start absorbing those lessons. There was so little between them last year in the championship but the league dynamic suggests Jim McGuinness’s team. Verdict: Donegal
Roscommon v Armagh, Dr Hyde Park, 2pm (Live, TG4 Player) – Roscommon have put in two good performances to date, narrowly losing in Kerry and winning well against Monaghan. Kieran McGeeney’s team, however, will be driven by the irritation of turning over a match they should have won to Galway. Verdict: Armagh
Division 2
Offaly v Cork, O’Connor Park, 2pm – Cork have impressed so far with the added firepower of the returning Stephen Sherlock whereas Offaly, understrength, are struggling with life in this division. Verdict: Cork
Tyrone v Cavan, Healy Park, 3.45pm (Live, TG4) – Cavan have been really unlucky in their opening fixtures and are after a first win in Tyrone since 1997 when manager Dermot McCabe played a starring role in Dungannon. Their conversion rate has been good and has got them into winning positions. Malachy O’Rourke’s team have been weirdly below par despite the underage riches to be sifted through and are now on the back foot for promotion. A response is likely. Verdict: Tyrone
Division 3
Fermanagh v Clare, Brewster Park, Enniskillen, 1pm – The sorrowful mysteries of Fermanagh’s season continue, as they struggle to turn adequate material into a winning total. Clare are moored to the bottom with them but might be better equipped for this. Verdict: Clare
Limerick v Wexford, Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale, 1pm – The counties had a few battles last year, coming up from Division 4 with Limerick winning the final. But Wexford have started the season in a rush, two from two and top of the table. Verdict: Wexford
Division 4
London v Leitrim, McGovern Park, Ruislip, 1pm – In-form London will fancy their chances here. Verdict: London
Antrim v Longford, Roger Casements, Portglenone, 2pm – This may the chance for Antrim to open their account. Verdict: Antrim
Tipperary v Carlow, Semple Stadium, 2pm – Tipperary are in touch with promotion but Joe Murphy’s Carlow have been sweeping all before them. Verdict: Tipperary
