Weekend football previews

This weekend's football previews.

Today

All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers - Round Two

(Extra-time if necessary)

Laois v Tyrone

Portlaoise, 5.30pm

Given his honorary doctorate from Queen's University this week, Tyrone manager Dr Mickey Harte may feel slightly better qualified to plot the downfall of Laois. In fact, his team selection alone looks capable of doing that, and while Stephen O'Neill is kept in reserve due to lingering concerns over his hamstring injury, the return of Kevin Hughes to midfield alongside Seán Cavanagh adds further strength to that area.

Ger Cavlan and Joe McMahon are also kept in reserve, with Ciarán Gourley replacing the injured Conor Gormley in defence. Otherwise, the team is unchanged from that which finally got past Louth in Round One, and having survived that scare, Tyrone are probably better suited both mentally and physically for the trip to Laois.

They were the last team Laois wanted after their poor showing against Dublin in the Leinster semi-final, with the memory of the 2004 qualifier hammering from Tyrone still fresh in their minds, plus the heavy defeat to Armagh in last year's quarter-final. But with manager Mick O'Dwyer poised to move on at the end of the season they surely won't go out without a fight.

Midfielder Pádraic Clancy is out with the shoulder injury sustained in the Dublin match, and is an obvious loss. Brendan Quigley now joins Noel Garvan at midfield, one of four changes from the last day, while only six players start in the same position. The Laois forwards were particularly disappointing against Dublin, and any one of them could have been replaced. In the end O'Dwyer dropped the youngsters Donie Brennan and Paul Lawlor and sends in Gary Kavanagh, back from injury, and Brian McCormack.

Laois have always proven hard to beat on home soil, and they'll need every advantage here. But what will really decide this game is how well Laois have recovered from the 14-point defeat to Dublin. Team morale is always difficult to rebuild after that, yet if anyone can do it then O'Dwyer can.

Both teams badly need to win here to save their season, and both teams have several question marks hanging over them, but Tyrone's attack - bolstered now with Colm McCullagh looks capable of doing the most damage and for that reason alone get the nod for this one.

TYRONE: J Devine; R McMenamin, C McGinley, M McGee; D Harte, C Gourley, P Jordan; K Hughes, S Cavanagh; R Mellon, R Mulgrew, E McGinley; M Penrose, O Mulligan, C McCullagh.

LAOIS: F Byron; A Fennelly, D Rooney, J Higgins; P McDonald, T Kelly, P McMahon; N Garvan, B Quigley; R Munnelly, C Conway, B McCormack; B Sheehan, B McDonald, G Kavanagh.

Monaghan v Wexford

Clones, 4.30pm

Like Fermanagh the year before them, Monaghan proved themselves one of the qualifier specialists last year, progressing to Round Four, which included a win over Wexford, before falling to eventual All-Ireland champions Tyrone.

That win over Wexford last summer will give them added confidence of doing the same here, as will their Ulster quarter-final draw with Armagh. Manager Séamus McEnaney has also named a slightly stronger team that easily beat Wicklow in Round One, with Vincent Corey back from injury to start at wing back, while Eoin Lennon resumes his midfield partnership with Dick Clerkin after recovering from a stomach virus.

This is a big challenge for Wexford, and not one they are relishing just six days after their Leinster semi-final defeat to Offaly. Two things will swing it then - how well Wexford recover from that game, and how well forward Matty Forde handles the pressure surrounding his stamping incident on Offaly's Shane Sullivan.

Forde obviously won't get a warm welcome in Clones, but he clearly has the class to rise again and deliver a match-winning performance for Wexford. They'll need him, because the rest of the forwards were disappointing against Offaly. This game is one of those classic qualifier scenarios, with one team coming off a defeat, and the other off a win. The qualifier record stills favour the latter, and given their new-found reputation for the qualifiers, Monaghan look better placed to go into the hat on Sunday evening for the third round.

MONAGHAN: S Duffy; D McArdle, J Coyle, C Flanagan; D Freeman, G McQuaid, V Corey; E Lennon, D Clerkin; J McElroy, P Finlay, S Gollogly; T Freeman, R Woods, E Duffy.

WEXFORD: TBC

Clare v Fermanagh

Ennis, 5.30pm

Now in their sixth season the All-Ireland qualifiers are still throwing up first time championship meetings such as this one. But one thing we have to go on here is that Clare beat Antrim in Round One of the qualifiers by a single point, while Fermanagh beat Antrim in the Ulster quarter final by three points.

There are more telling factors though, not least of all Fermanagh's steady progression as a championship team. In ways they're still living off that qualifier run to the semi-final two years ago, but they have another season of division one football behind them this time, and while the Ulster semi-final replay defeat to Armagh was disappointing, it's unlikely to mark the end of their summer.

James Sherry returns to midfield in place of Liam McBarron, who is ruled out with a knee injury, while Damien Kelly also returns to left half back, but again it's forwards such as Mark Little and Eamon Maguire that can win this game for Fermanagh.

That won't be easily done in the unfamiliar surroundings of Cusack Park, but Clare - who did play well to beat Antrim - just don't appear to have the depth of players to get past Fermanagh.

FERMANAGH: C Breen; R McCloskey, B Owens, S Goan; P Sherry, H Brady, D Kelly; J Sherry, M Murphy; M Little, T Brewster, E Maguire; C Bradley, S Doherty, C O'Reilly.

CLARE: TBC

Tomorrow

Leitrim v Sligo

Carrick-on-Shannon, 3.30pm

It seems forgotten that Leitrim beat Sligo in the Connacht quarter-final last year, a game they weren't expected to win, nor given full credit for. Despite the desperately small pool of players manager Dessie Dolan is clearly doing a good job in the county and another victory here would underline that.

Their determination against Mayo in the Connacht semi-final proved again how they can rise above expectations, and while Mayo were disappointing in the second half, Leitrim still deserved to be just one point short in the end. Sligo, however, have shown some good form themselves this summer, testing Galway to the max in the Connacht quarter-final, and then destroyed a dismal Down team 1-7 to 0-4 in the Round One qualifier.

Teenager David Kelly is back in the attack having missed the previous game while sitting his Leaving Cert, and John McPartland also replaces the injured Barry Kivlehan in attack. It promises to be close and exciting, and while any team will tell you a victory is hard to find in Carrick-in-Shannon, Sligo look just about capable of pulling that off.

SLIGO: P Greene; C Harrison, N Maguire, R Donovan; P McGovern, B Egan, K O'Neill; E O'Hara, T Taylor; J McPartland, M Breheny, P Doohan; D Kelly, S Davey, A Marren.

LEITRIM: TBC

The draw for the third round of the All-Ireland football championship qualifiers will take place tomorrow evening. The eight winners from the second round of the qualifiers will be placed in a single drum and will be drawn to play against each other for the right to progress to the fourth Round.

The following teams will be involved: Westmeath, Longford, Derry, Meath and the winners of Monaghan v Wexford, Sligo v Leitrim, Clare v Fermanagh, Tyrone v Laois.

Teams who have met before in the championship cannot be paired against each other. Ties that may be in this category could include: Wexford v Meath (if Wexford beat Monaghan) and Tyrone v Derry (if Tyrone beat Laois).

A change in regulations means that this year for the first time, the third and fourth rounds of the qualifiers may operate on a home and away basis. The first team drawn from the drum will have the right to home venue.