The 2013 Championship gets underway this weekend with football action from Ulster, Leinster and a huge clash in Connacht. Armagh open their campaign against a young Cavan side in Ulster, while Westmeath will be strong favourites to overcome Carlow when the sides meet Sunday. But the big match of the weekend sees old rivals Galway and Mayo go head to head in Pearse Stadium.
Home advantage could be pivotal to any chances Cavan have upsetting Armagh on Sunday as they look to transfer their success at underage level to the senior stage. Cavan manager Terry Hyland made a bold decision last year to start from scratch and put faith in youth in order to get Cavan back to the summit of football. The base of his team come from the U-21 team beaten in the 2011 All Ireland final. Having secured a third successive Ulster title this year, confidence is high among the Breffni men. Influential midfielder Gearoid McKiernan is a huge loss, having done his cruciate earlier this year but his replacement is more than capable of leading Cavan towards a successful 2013. David Givney won a Sigerson medal with DIT this year and is one to watch this year.
On the other side of the ball Armagh are also looking to the future. 18 year old Ciaran O'Hanlon has been handed his first ever start for the senior side for the opening game of their season. He starts at centre forward and for anyone who hasn't seen this kid play, you are in for a real treat on Sunday. He has all the skills required for this level but he also possesses maturity beyond his years. He is very unselfish and intelligent and can act as a playmaker for Armagh this Summer. Looking at these two counties I think we could be seeing two teams on Sunday who will be contesting Ulster titles and All Ireland titles in years to come. Armagh may have injuries to some key men but the return of Jamie Clarke from South America is a huge bonus. Clarke is, in my opinion, the best forward in the country and I think this year he could announce himself on the big stage. Anything Armagh are going to achieve this year will require big performances from Clarke but there isn't anyone better suited to the task than the Crossmaglen star. The future looks bright for Cavan but Armagh will prevail on Sunday. Verdict: Armagh.
Westmeath will fancy their chances of setting up a meeting with Dublin when they face Carlow on Sunday in the preliminary round of the Leinster Championship. The return of Dessie Dolan to the starting line up makes their side look much more formidable. I've watched Dessie play in person and very few players have impacted the way I see the game as he has.. He really is a joy to watch. He possesses a great football brain and his work off the ball is incredible. Although only being used as an impact sub he still scored 1-10 in the limited time he got during the league. For Carlow to have any success on Sunday they need to limit the supply to this man. To do so they will have to get on top at midfield which is no easy feat against the Lakesiders who have a fine midfielder in John Heslin in their ranks. Anthony Rainbow is a great man for Carlow to have in charge and you can be sure he will have some sort of plan to stifle the Westmeath attack while sustaining an attacking threat themselves. I think the winning of the game will be in the Westmeath full forward line. Denis Glennon, Ger Egan and Dolan will cause every country problems and I don't see Carlow having enough to stop them. Verdict: Westmeath.
Come four o'clock Sunday, all eyes switch to the west as Galway and Mayo renew an age old rivalry. The two have met an incredible 82 times and are locked at 38 wins each. That will all change Sunday as Alan Mulholland looks to lead the Tribesmen to a first championship win over Mayo for five years. Mayo are without a number of key players this weekend including Andy Moran, Jason Doherty and Alan Dillon. Galway won an U-21 All Ireland a few weeks back but haven't introduced any new players for this game which seems a strange decision. Mulholland has indicated that he will blood new players throughout the Summer but I think Sunday would be the perfect time for them. If they had a few new players making their debut, possibly in a win over Mayo it would leave them in great shape for the remainder of the Summer. As it stands there isn't a lot different to the Galway side that were beaten comfortably by Sligo last year. That worries me. I think Mayo are real contenders for the All Ireland this year but they need to get those injured players back on the field and soon. Aidan and Seamie O'Shea should have too much in midfield for Galway. I think they'll dominate the middle of the field and give a platform for Mayo to attack from with Cillian O'Connor at centre forward pivotal to their scoring. Galway will improve once they add the young stars to their squad but Mayo are a touch better than them at the moment. Verdict: Mayo
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