Fancied Tyrone won’t have it all their own way

On the face of it, Tyrone's decade-long whip-hand over Derry ought to be in no real trouble here. Mickey Harte looks to have built himself another formidable team, whereas Damian Barton hasn't appeared to have had a day's peace since he took the Derry job over the winter. Tyrone's year will be a disappointment if they're not playing in late August; Derry's year will be a success if they win tomorrow.

That's that, then? Not quite. Tyrone have had a decent start to 2016 for sure but all the talk of them being on an unbeaten streak needs a few caveats. For a start, the Dr McKenna Cup means very little, the O'Fiach Cup even less. They did what they had to do in the league but it was still Division Two. And for all that they were the best team in the division, they were only the fourth-highest scorers.

Indeed, although Derry had a sometimes miserable spring, they still scored close on three points a game more than Tyrone. Harte’s side ground teams to dust but they very rarely blew anyone away.

It’s reasonable to expect them to have too much for Derry but, equally, can anyone really see it being a trouncing?

Hand-to-hand combat

If nothing else, an afternoon of hand-to-hand combat is surely Derry’s best chance of success. Giving the likes of Tiernan McCann, Cathal McShane and

Mark Bradley

acres of

Celtic Park

to run around in will not end well for Barton’s men. It’s hard to shake the feeling that this has to be the sort of encounter they’re giving out about on

The Sunday Game

for Derry to advance.

Derry should make them work for it but Harte’s side should come through all the same.