Peter Canavan predicts provincial wins for Donegal and Mayo

A scuffle breaks out during last year's All-Ireland quarter-final between Donegal and Armagh

There will be no quarter given in Armagh's clash with Ulster champions Donegal, says Peter Canavan, but the loss of Shane Walsh dents Galway's hopes of upsetting Mayo...

We have championship action taking place across all four provinces this weekend and the standout games are in Connacht and Ulster.

On Sunday afternoon, fierce rivals Galway and Mayo will attract a large crowd in Pearse Stadium. I was really looking forward to Galway making a serious impression this year; I feel they have the forwards to match any team in Ireland, never mind in Connacht.

Mayo are chasing a fifth successive win against Galway for the first time since 1906

However, the Tribesmen have been dealt a hammer blow with the news that Shane Walsh has been ruled out. That swings the game into Mayo’s favour. In Walsh's absence, the chase for five-in-a-row is still very much on.

There will be some interesting battles to watch out for in Salthill. I expect Kevin Keane to start at full-back after a fine National League. He’ll be up against Damien Comer, who is making serious inroads as a senior inter-county footballer.

There’ll also be a duel at the opposite end of the pitch, where Finian Hanley is likely to be tasked with picking up Aidan O’Shea. I expect this to be a regular tactic of this Mayo team moving forward, in that they persist with a target man in the full-forward line. Between O’Shea, Alan Freeman and Barry Moran they have serious options.

Ulster intensity

If it’s hard hitting, high intensity football you’re after then the Athletic Grounds is the place to be on Sunday afternoon as Armagh face Donegal. There’ll be a packed house and a fantastic atmosphere.

This Armagh team are not a surprise package anymore. Last year they competed with the best teams in Ulster and proved more than a match for them. They defeated Tyrone, drew with Monaghan and ran Donegal to a point in Croke Park. It’s very much a case of the structure and experience that Donegal have, against the hunger and youth of Armagh.

If Donegal can withstand the physical onslaught that Armagh will throw at them, they possess the quality to see them through.

Peter Canavan

If Donegal can withstand the physical onslaught that Armagh will throw at them, they possess the quality to see them through.

Kieran McGeeney has been playing down Armagh’s chances, citing the fact they’ve plied their trade in Division Three this year. But they struggled in Division Two last year and it did them no harm!

It’s a great game in prospect. Last week Eddie Kinsella, who normally lets the game flow, felt the need to blow for everything and be overly fussy. Let’s hope that David Coldrick is not too whistle happy and allows the game to flourish, and that the physicality is not completely removed.

Competitive

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The Sky Sports GAA punditry team discuss the state of Gaelic football

The competitive nature of Ulster was very much to the fore again in Celtic Park last weekend. While Derry and Down didn’t produce a classic it followed the trend of the Donegal-Tyrone game, whereby the team with the most possession, shots and attacks didn’t win.

Down had a lot of possession but were wasteful in front of goal. They had a 42 per cent scoring percentage, compared to Derry’s 55 per cent. Similar to Donegal, Derry were more efficient in front of goal and that proved invaluable.

Down showed great character to draw level late on and were playing with great energy, but they lacked that composure in front of goal.

Laois captain Ross Munnelly didn't hit his usual high standards against Kildare, says Peter

With regards to our first live fixture of the season in Tullamore last Saturday, question marks before the game were centred on the mentality of Kildare and whether they’d show the bottle and resolve required going into the closing stages of a game.

This was an area where they have struggled in recent years but they gave an emphatic response. Three points down with less than five minutes remaining and playing against a strong breeze, Kildare showed great tenacity and resolve to come back and were very deserving of a draw.

In a very entertaining game, I think Laois have more scope to improve heading into Saturday’s replay. Despite winning most of the kickouts they were guilty of giving a lot of ball away. Kildare turned them over 24 times over the 70 minutes, in contrast to Laois forcing 10 turnovers. This area is often an indication of work rate and intensity, and Laois have plenty of room for improvement.

In Ross Munnelly and Colm Begley, Laois have key players who - by their own very high standards - had quiet games. I expect them to come to the fore and make a difference this weekend.

Watch the Leinster SHC semi-final between Galway and Laois and the Connacht SFC semi-final between Sligo and Roscommon live on Sky Sports on June 20