Louth made opponents sit up and take notice following their 10-point demolition of Laois in the preliminary round two weekends ago.

Defections from the O'Moore County camp since suggest that all was not well in the opposite corner, however, but that shouldn't detract from the performance of Aidan O'Rourke and his men.

The team work-ethic plus the placed ball kicking of centre-forward Brian White and score-getting of full-forward Shane Lennon - who notched 1-3 out of 1-4 from play - earned rave reviews

Wexford, on the other hand, have been waiting in the long grass and make the trip to Drogheda for manager Aidan O'Brien's first championship match at the helm.

He already has, however, a win over Louth at Drogheda under his belt. The Model County inflicted a 2-13 to 2-9 league defeat on O'Rourke's charges in round four of Division 2 back in March.

O'Brien has named Lee Chin at left corner-back despite the fact that he will have lined out for the hurlers the previous evening against Dublin.

It is a gamble by the management but one they must be confident will pay off.

Elsewhere, the starting 15 contains players with plenty of experience and Drogheda won't hold any fears for them.

However, momentum can be a big factor at this early stage of the championship and Louth have that on their side but don't be surprised if a replay is required to separate these sides.

Verdict: Louth

Louth: N Gallagher; P Rath, D Finnegan, J Bingham; J O'Brien, D Crilly, A Reid; P Keenan, B Donnelly; A McDonnell, B White, C Rafferty; C Byrne, S Lennon, D Maguire.

Wexford: A Masterson; M Furlong, G Molloy, L Chin; B Malone, D Murphy, A Flynn; D Waters, R Quinlivan; J Holmes, B Brosnan, A Doyle; C Lyng, R Barry, PJ Banville.

Referee: Fergal Kelly

Odds: Louth 4/6, Draw 15/2, Wexford 6/4

Match Details:Drogheda; 3.30pm; Sunday, June 9th Tweet

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