Louth and Leitrim will meet for the first time in championship action at the Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda this evening - and it's a game that both sides will fancy their chances of winning.

The Connacht visitors gave a good account of themselves against Galway last time out but lacked a cutting edge in attack.

Manager Shane Ward has made three changes to his team with Shane Quinn (right half forward), Paddy McGowan (left half forward) and Alan McLoughlin (left corner forward) all getting the call-up.

"We will be looking forward to the challenge," Ward said in the build-up.

"We have a young team who are looking to get as many games as we can under their belts to help in their development, players who are looking to improve. If they do that, I'd be confident that we are in with a good chance next Saturday."

Louth boss Colin Kelly, meanwhile, has been forced into shuffling his deck due to a combination of injuries, suspensions and squad defections.

The Wee County lost out by 0-16 to 3-14 against Westmeath on home soil in the provincial championship.

Craig Lynch will line out between the posts while there are also starts for Dessie Finnegan, Conal McKeever and Ronan Holdcroft.

Verdict - Louth.

Louth team: Craig Lynch; Padraig Rath, Dessie Finnegan, Anthony Williams; Declan Byrne, Darren O'Hanlon, Adrian Reid; Tommy Durnin, James Califf; Bevan Duffy, Paraic Smith, Conal McKeever; Ryan Burns, Colm Judge, Ronan Holdcroft.

Leitrim team: Cathal McCrann; Mathew Murphy, Ronan Gallagher, Niall Woods; Sean McWeeney, Gary Reynolds, Danny Beck; Darren Sweeney, Shane Moran; Shane Quinn, Kevin Conlan, Paddy McGowan; Fergal Clancy, Donal Wrynn, Alan McLoughlin.

Match details: Saturday; Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda; 7pm; extra-time playable.

Referee: Ciaran Branagan.

Odds: Louth 4/7, Draw 7/1, Leitrim 2/1.

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