Today’s PREVIEWS

FOOTBALL Connacht SFC final

Galway v Mayo, Pearse Stadium, 1.30pm (RTÉ2); Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone)

This is first final meeting between Connacht’s old firm since 2014, but that has not stopped them hopping off each other every year since.

The upper hand appears to be once more with Mayo, who drew a line under a three-year losing sequence in last year’s qualifiers, having gone back to the future by ensuring that they have the legs to match their manic desire.

The introduction of Oisín Mulllin, Eoghan McLaughlin, Ryan

O’Donoghue, Tommy Conroy and Mark Moran has been transformative, evidently energising old guns such as Lee Keegan, Kevin McLoughin and Cillian O’Connor.

Pádraic Joyce (right) will hope to put the hurt of last month’s League mauling to good use, but that will require a change of game plan and attitude. Verdict: Mayo

Leinster SFC semi-finals Meath v Kildare, Croke Park, 1.00pm; Referee: C Lane (Cork)

It is not new, but that old jibe about two bald men fighting over a comb still holds true.

Since the resumption of the season, Kildare have gathered themselves and are seeking a fourth win on the bounce and, in Darragh Kirwan, have found a forward who can finish. However, Meath’s sevengoal mauling of a Wicklow team that had momentum has gone a little under the radar, underling once more that the fragile Royals of recent times belong to the past.

Their exposure to the

Super 8s and Division 1 has taken their game to a place Kildare may struggle to keep pace .

Verdict: Meath

Dublin v Laois, Croke Park, 3.30pm; Referee: C Branagan (Down)

In their last three meetings, an aggregate of 40 points has separated these teams which underlines the futility of today’s tie. Yes, Laois get a big day out in Croke Park but there is no possibility of getting a result, there is developmental value to be squeezed out of it, with success measured by keeping the final margin to single digits.

And Dublin? As ever, they

will depend on challenges generated by the competition within to maintain standards that never drop.

Verdict: Dublin

Ulster SFC semi-final:

Down v Cavan, Athletic Grounds, 1.30pm (BBC 2 NI); Referee: M McNally (Monaghan)

Down might be entertaining fanciful ideas, given what fellow Division 3 team Cork managed, and they certainly dismissed Fermanagh with some comfort last weekend.

Under Paddy Tally, they have become a more stable and structured side, while Caolan Mooney’s presence ensures an exciting dimension to the side. Meanwhile, Cavan looked like a team still trying to get back on the ground last weekend against Antrim, before Gearóid McKiernan steadied them. This, though, may be one step too far. Verdict: Down

HURLING

Munster SHC final Limerick v Waterford

Semple Stadium, 4pm (Live RTÉ2); Referee: C Lyons (Cork)

If there is any sort of a template to stopping this Limerick team, it was put into practice by Kilkenny in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final.

Flood the midfield area and try to disrupt Limerick’s slick, controlled, running game. Cut off the trademark angled deliveries to the lethal finishers of Aaron Gillane, Peter Casey and Graeme Mulcahy at source. Thwart the pivotal half-forward line out the field rather than letting the likes of Gearóid Hegarty and Tom Morrissey ping scores from distance. As Clare and Tipperary found, it’s so much easier said than done.

Waterford showed against Cork that they have the workrate, athleticism and physicality to take Limerick on but the National League and Munster champions are so fluid, so flexible – as shown by Cian Lynch’s tour-de-force after switching from midfield to centre-forward the last day – that it’s hard to see them stopped.

Verdict: Limerick