Limerick unlikely to find a way past

Even with their injury problems I expect Kilkenny to get over this quarter-final hurdle, and continue as favourites to win the All-Ireland. The injuries have upset the team a little bit, but we've all been hearing about how strong the Kilkenny panel is, and this should be another opportunity to prove it.

Losing a full back of Noel Hickey's quality is a major setback. Brian Cody does have plenty of reserves. Michael Kavanagh and James Ryall are also superb defenders, and I think it will be business as usual with the Kilkenny defence. Cody will have his homework done to make sure his team will cope. There are also some doubts about the fitness of Peter Barry and Richie Power but I expect them to start. Barry is captain, has been a lot steadier this year, and won't want to miss a knockout game of any description.

Kilkenny don't look any less formidable a team. It's been four weeks since their Leinster final win but that shouldn't be a problem as Cody will have kept them ticking over. And they will want to improve a little on their win over Wexford.

For a long time that day they were in trouble, and Wexford ran the show for the first half. Yet Kilkenny drew level at the break, which epitomised their calmness and confidence. This time I expect they'll want to dominate from the start. Certain individuals will want to impress Cody at this stage and that always makes for a competitive team.

Limerick come in with problems of their own, with evidence of rumblings in the camp. They've lost selector Declan Nash since the qualifiers, and forward Andrew O'Shaughnessy went roaming for a while. Manager Joe McKenna has made a fair few positional switches since the last game with Galway, and I can understand why.

Switching Ollie Moran to the forward line didn't work, and he's returned to centre back. Galway scored almost at will so when this defence comes up against Henry Shefflin and Tommy Walsh you have to wonder.

Eoin Larkin also showed his merits in the Leinster final. So I would fear for the Limerick defence. Obviously they'll come in with a game plan, and I expect they'll try to replicate what Clare did against Kilkenny last year, and make sure they keep the ball out the field. I also expect they'll put an extra man in the back line from the start and just try to develop some confidence.

Mark Foley and Damien Reale will have to show their best form, but I think the Limerick back line lacks pace, and Kilkenny are so sharp they can expect some ruthless attacking. It's hard to see any area of the field where Limerick will win. Up front they're lacking a bit of bulk and mobility, and TJ Ryan will definitely want to see a lot of ball.

While it's going to take big, big shock for Kilkenny to lose, the other quarter-final is evenly balanced. Tipperary and Galway both believe they can win, and are such fierce rivals. I would have to fancy Tipperary because they've had the better preparations.

You can't beat the four hard championship matches Tipperary have had, twice against Limerick, and then Clare and Cork. All those games gave Tipp a bit of confidence, and got the supporters behind them again. They proved their sharpness against Clare, but their big problem against Cork in the Munster final was they didn't contest the ball in key areas in the first half. They proved what they were capable of in the second half.

That kind of character should be enough to get them past Galway. The half-back line will need to stand up. Benny Dunne should perform better at half forward, and Tommy Dunne in the corner.

Micheál Webster deserves great credit for the way he's taken on the full-forward position, and of course their match winner is Eoin Kelly. His sharpness on the ball is second to none.

I'd still wonder a little about Galway's form. Eugene Cloonan and Kevin Broderick are big losses. They beat Limerick in the last game, but I know they would have liked another strong test. But whatever is left in this Galway side we will see it tomorrow. They'll need to show more leadership on the field, and not just rely on Ollie Canning. They do have some very lively forwards. Richie Murray has filled out a lot this year, and Damien Hayes is a potential match winner in his own right.

At times Galway seem to lack a little bit of self-belief. If they can produce their best form on the day then they are certainly capable of winning, and they won't fear Tipperary. They'll need to expose some sort of deficiencies in Tipperary, but I believe Galway lack that real championship pace which Tipperary have now reached. It will be close with no more than a few points between them at any stage, but in the end I expect Tipperary will emerge as winners.