IT WILL be very, very close. Tipperary have been improving with each League match and seem to have found a balance in their forward line. Limerick are not playing as well as they did at the start of the season. They look like a side that has reached a peak and is coming down.

They certainly didn't need side attractions like the controversy over Mike Galligan's omission. I don't think anyone is entitled to feel they have a place on a team. Tom Ryan and his selectors picked a team that didn't include him and that was their right.

Even if a player feels a wrong has been done, he should think of the overall good. It's up to Mike Galligan to prove to himself and everybody that he should be on the team and the way to do that is to play for 70 minutes, doing the right things and scoring, which is the main element of a forward's job.

The pitch will suit Limerick. There's been rain for the last two or three days including about 15 hours of continuous rainfall so there should be a bit of give. Thurles is a fast ground but it won't favour anybody and Limerick traditionally like playing there.

Tipp look like a balanced side coming at the right time. On the basis of their League win over Kilkenny, there doesn't look as if there's a team in Munster capable of beating them. Their full forward line scored 3-9 and are skilful hurlers. But this is the Munster championship. It's all about heart and guts.

The most important thing is to be right mentally and be physically prepared. Tipperary's forwards are beautiful hurlers but five of them are very light - Declan Ryan is the obvious exception. They are similar to Cork last Sunday except that they're better as they proved against Kilkenny.

Limerick need to improve everywhere. The backs are too open and need to stand man-to-man on the Tipperary forwards. Five of those forwards are one-touch players and if they get to ball first, they're gone. The backs have to be with them for every ball.

Liam Cahill, in the right corner of Tipp's attack, beat Declan Nash twice last year. Declan has to realise that he has Cahill to beat and Cahill only.

Mike Nash has a tendency to let a full forward out in front of him and then he's in trouble. He can't let Michael Cleary out because he'll turn and point or else lay it off. Ciaran Carey, at centre back, must be careful to cut off the space in front of Cleary.

At some stage we can expect to see Carey and Mike Houlihan switch but I'm not sure what triggers the change. Houlihan is a good defending midfielder who can send great ball into his forwards but doesn't have the speed of Carey. I think the switch is designed to get the forwards moving. It depends on the flow of the game.

From an opposition point of view, the further away from goal that Carey is, the less dangerous he is. His career began in the forwards and he remains basically a forward. If he started there, he could score five or six points. He's got a great sidestep and speed to go with it.

It's probably easier for Houlihan to go back in the course of a game but quite difficult to do from the start. He operates best when playing in a circle. I think his best game last year was against Cork where he concentrated on hitting ball. He'd a broken jaw and wasn't that confident about it. So be didn't move too much and contained himself. As the jaw got better, he didn't play as well.

He reminds me of Theo English who also played in a circle. He was like a magnet to the ball. His circle was about 15 yards and within it, he'd grab the ball and drive it. He controlled his area and was able to set his forwards in motion.

This area will be competitive. John Leahy adds power to Tipperary's centrefield and understands the ball his forwards need and knows how to strike it low into the full forward line.

In the Limerick forwards, Gary Kirby's not going that well but he had been going well since 1989 with everything revolved around him. When he's playing, the other forwards tend to rely on him which is a bad idea. If he's not going well, they have to take on more responsibility.

I think he'd be a very good full forward. He's an excellent hurling brain and would be able to flick on ball, which not all full forwards are. It would also put less pressure on him than having to play so crucial a role at centre forward.

Tomorrow's full forward, Shane O'Neill, depends on the supply of ball. The supply against Waterford was not coming in and you have to question why.

Shane has tremendous potential and Limerick should be encouraging him. But if Kirby gets into space, the ball is either over the bar or wide. It appears as if the Limerick half forward line slows down the game.

All teams in Munster, except Kerry, are similar in standard so it's competitive and this match will be like a Munster final. Last week's was as well. Lose this match and you're gone, finished for this year. Win and there'll be a second chance.

That creates huge pressure and the match will go to whoever has the mental strength to rise to the occasion and the will to overcome adversity. The counties know each other well and there is intense rivalry.

In the 1960s and `70s, one of the teams that Limerick could occasionally surprise was Tipp. Traditionally Limerick aren't afraid of them.

Possibly Tipperary are unsettled by Limerick over the last couple of years. Len Gaynor is back in charge and trying to put steel into the team. I'm not sure you can do that if the steel's not there for a start.

Tipperary have a lot of motivation after missing out last year when they should have won the drawn game but I think that Limerick will just about win.

(In an interview with Sean Moran)