English men can regroup to effect

This is the unusual situation where you're trying to assess the meeting of a team that hasn't played competitively for 10 weeks and a team that has already had three championship outings. And to be honest, that will be the difference between winning and losing.

The fact that Tipperary have had a first round, semi-final and provincial final - all of which were very tough matches - suggests to me that they should be the sharper, fitter and a lot more ready to go. They have had the chance to iron out any problems and, even though they are coming in on something of a low after losing the Munster final, they know they have another great opportunity to get into an All-Ireland semi-final.

Declan Ryan is still a loss, but they've known that for a while now and they will have adjusted their plan accordingly. I thought Eddie Enright did quite well in the centre-forward position when he came in for the Munster final, except for the later stages of the second half.

On this occasion, he'll be facing Cathal Moore at centre back, who I feel has a similar level of ability to Brian Corcoran. I don't think that Enright will try to mix it on a one-to-one basis, but instead he'll try to move the centre back around the place, similar to what he did against Cork.

For Galway, the return of Eugene Cloonan was always going to be a useful addition, but it also means that Kevin Broderick doesn't start, nor does David Tierney. However, it means they have a minimum of two substitutes that are as good as the players on the field. We've seen this year with the introduction of five substitutes that that can be a major factor.

I expect the game to be very similar to the National League final - except that Tipperary will win. Galway's full-forward line will probably come out the field again and try to shake off the Tipperary defence. Tipperary found that a problem against Cork when their three full forwards came out the field.

But the long break that Galway have had will definitely work against them. Of course, they will have trained hard and played challenge games, but there is nothing like championship matches. It's a vital necessity coming into a game like this. Tipperary, in contrast, know exactly where they are at and it will be a different team from that which played in the league final. The long break is unfortunate for Galway and it is a ridiculous situation, but there is nothing they can do about it at the moment. They are still a settled side and their six backs are especially stable, which is something that every manager is looking for. It is possible, of course, that Tipperary will still be burdened by the disappointment of the Munster final. Everybody expected John Leahy to perform that day and even though he wasn't on fire, it was still a very close game.

I was, however, a bit surprised to see Tommy Dunne named at left corner forward rather than the right. He scored both his goals from the right side the last day and in each case they were balls that crossed the goalkeeper from left to right. They were tremendous shots and Donal Cusack didn't have a chance. They may be diluting centrefield, a little bit but they are certainly adding to the forward line.

Paul Shelley has been left at full forward and again his role will be to break up play for Dunne and the other players around him. The introduction of eal Micheal Ryan suggests to me that Tipperary are still trying to solve the dilemma of midfield.

Dunne had always played in the forwards and, with their lack of goalscoring, it was logical to put him back there. So they looked around and I suppose they felt Ryan was the player who would best do the job. It's a gamble but so many things at this level are a gamble.

The first 20 minutes are going to be very important for Tipperary. They'll want to build an early advantage on Galway and I think that would put them well on the road to victory.

I remember as well from the league final that Galway started nervously. They were mis-hitting balls and dropping a lot of balls and, if that happens here, they will definitely be in trouble. But they've nothing to lose and they will have to give it everything. Again, one of the main tactics will be to feed Joe Rabbitte. If he is stopped, a lot of the Galway attack is stopped.

For Galway to win, Tipperary will have to under-perform somewhat. Of course, Galway are capable of coming through. They have been playing well this year, coming through the league undefeated, but they'll have to show that confidence here to have any chance of beating Tipperary. If Rabbitte gets the ball and gets his forwards moving, then it could be a great game, but I still feel that Tipperary have the edge.

I think any psychological problems in Tipperary will have been sorted out at this stage. They're a young side and that makes it easier to recover from the Munster final defeat and they'll be no excuses if they lose.

In the other quarter-final, Offaly and Derry does come across as a bit of a mismatch. Again Offaly have been lucky in the draw by drawing the Ulster team, but the big danger here is that they go out thinking that they have nothing to do only show their jerseys to Derry and they'll beat them.

The last time they did that back in 1989, they were caught by two quick goals by Antrim in the second half and ended up losing. I think Pat Fleury was very disappointed with the attitude and the frame of mind that the players showed in the Leinster final, especially that they gave in so easily.

They may have tried hard for a while, but I still feel that they let themselves down a little bit.

Offaly are still a very capable side. If they can rise themselves to a good performance, then you never know what might happen for the rest of the championship.

(In an interview with Ian O'Riordan)