Previews of Sunday's four Lidl NFL Division 1 fixtures
This Sunday is the crunch round of fixtures in the Lidl Division 1 campaign for every county, including All-Ireland champions Cork.
Mayo have qualified in firstplace and will play the fourth placed finishers in the semi-finals.
Armagh, Dublin, Kerry, Cork and Galway can all qualify for the semi-finals depending on results in final round.
Tyrone will be relegated if they do not defeat Kerry. Should Monaghan win or draw their last fixture Tyrone will be relegated regardless of their result.
Cork v Armagh
Éire Óg, 1pm (N. McCormack)
This is a match to relish as the defending champions will need to continue their late season resurgence against an Armagh side that have been a revelation in their first experience of the top division.
Simply put, Cork must win and even still they need results elsewhere to go their way if they want to progress to the knock out stages.
The best results that can happen for Cork would be a victory of their own coupled with wins for Dublin and Tyrone, their loss of the head to head fixture with Kerry means that they could still miss out on qualification even if they do win against Armagh.
It is a similar situation for Armagh, although a win will secure their qualification for the semi finals without needing to rely on results elsewhere. Armagh had a great win last week against Dublin although it was by the most slim of margins. They need to produce a performance of a similar level against the Rebellettes to give themselves hope of qualification but with this match being on the road, and considering Cork’s need for points, this could be the most difficult match of the year for Ronan Clarke’s team.
Kerry v Tyrone
Fitzgerald Stadium, 12pm
Kerry need victory to secure a semi-final position whereas Tyrone must win and hope Monaghan lose to force a relegation play-off decider.
Kerry have had a mixed campaign to put it mildly but they recorded their first away victory against Monaghan last week to put themselves firmly into the top four picture.
Kerry need a win but they must hope that results elsewhere go their way to ensure that they qualify. It will be a comfort to Alan O’Neill and his Kerry team that the visitors this weekend are winless Tyrone. However, O’Neill will have his team on full alert against complacency as nothing short of victory will be of any use to them.
Mayo v Monaghan
Ballina Stephenites, 2pm
Monaghan need points to ensure their survival in the top division. They sit second bottom of the table and only three points ahead of Tyrone. Should Tyrone win against Kerry and Monaghan fail to take any points from Mayo it would leave Monaghan facing the prospect of a relegation play off. This is clearly an unlikely occurrence but Paula Cunningham will not want to take any chances.
Mayo are in totally the opposite position to their opponents. They sit top of the table with a 100 per cent record and will finish top of the table regardless of the results this weekend.
Will Monaghan be able to take advantage of a Mayo team that aren’t under pressure for a result in the same way that their opponents are? They simply must discover their past form to give themselves a chance.
Dublin v Galway
Parnell Park, 2pm
Dublin and Galway go into this match with both sides needing the points to progress through to the semi finals.
Dublin sit on 12 points, three ahead of their opponents on Sunday. A win for Galway would move them level on points with Dublin and should that win be by more than nine points they move ahead on score difference. Dublin are not sure of qualification yet for the semi-finals although a win over Galway would make certain of their progression but a loss has the potential to land them in a five-way tie for second place.
