Here are our previews for the six provincial football championship clashes taking place across the country on Sunday.

Sunday, June 12th

Connacht SFC semi-final

Roscommon v Sligo, Dr Hyde Park, 4pm

The Rossies may have got the scare of their lives against New York in the opening round, but after a comfortable win over Leitrim they are odds on favourites on Sunday to seal their berth into a first Connacht decider since 2011's defeat to Mayo.

Niall Carew's Sligo stand in their way and after a mediocre league campaign in Division Three that reaped three wins and three defeats, along with one draw, it's difficult to see the Yeats men halting the men in Saffron this weekend. Visitors to Dr Hyde Park, Sligo are at 11/2 odds to cause an upset on the hosts again and they're coming up against a well-balanced side, jointly managed by Kevin McStay and Fergal O'Donnell, which had 10 different scorers last time out in Carrick-on-Shannon.

The winners will meet either Mayo or Galway in next month's provincial decider out west.

Verdict: Roscommon

 

Leinster SFC quarter-finals

Meath v Louth, Parnell Park, 3.30pm

A repeat of the controversial 2010 decider, which Meath edged with a late Joe Sheridan goal, but this time round it's a different venue in the capital. With the Royals having also ousted the Wee County in the qualifiers in 2011, expect there to be no love lost when these two sides square off at Parnell Park.

The difference this time however, is that Louth are the form team coming into this provincial quarter-final after having secured the Division Four title with victory over Antrim at Croke Park and backing up their league success with an early championship scalp against Carlow. Ryan Burns was the Barrowsiders' chief tormentor that afternoon in Portlaoise and Mick O'Dowd will have to work out a way to restrict the Hunterstown man's influence in order to avoid his team being inflicted with a 4/1 upset. That generous price largely comes down to the way Meath finished out their Division Two campaign, avoiding relegation in the final round, and the rich tradition they boast in the championship over Sunday's counterparts.

Victory means a semi-final date with Dublin, while the losers must travel to Derry for Round 1A of the qualifiers.

Verdict: Meath

Westmeath v Offaly, Cusack Park, 3.30pm

Offaly scored a resounding win against Longford in their championship opener and make the short trip to Mullingar on Sunday trying to repeat the trick against Tom Cribbin's Westmeath.

It should be noted that the Faithful men's form has been decent all season, having just missed out on league promotion from Division Three. They also had 11 different scorers over the 70 minutes of their eight-point victory over Longford in Tullamore last month and could well be the pick of the underdogs (7/4) this Sunday with potent scorers like Niall McNamee, Nigel Dunne and Bernard Allen in their attack.

Home advantage is part of the reason why Westmeath are priced at 8/13, along with the fact that they possess scoring machine John Heslin. Offaly boss Pat Flanagan, who managed Westmeath for three seasons, will be all too well aware of the St Loman's man's threat and it will be interesting to see who he tasks with shielding the Lake County's talismanic full-forward, as his influence could well make all the difference here.

The winners advance to a semi-final meeting with Kildare, while the losers have home advantage against London in the backdoor.

Verdict: Offaly

 

Munster SFC semi-finals

Tipperary v Cork, Semple Stadium, 3.30pm

It's another Sunday derby at Semple Stadium between Tipperary and Cork but this time there won't be a sliotar pucked at the famous Thurles venue.

Tipp come into this one looking to defy 15/2 odds but it's difficult to see them upsetting Peader Healy's side, who have been building towards this Munster championship opener since their relegation from Division One was confirmed in April. Ace forward Colm O'Neill recently asked supporters to reserve judgement on the Leesiders until after their championship was concluded, suggesting that they're keen to make a statement against the Premier men on Sunday.

Liam Kearns' charges produced a strong second-half display in the quarter-finals to dispatch Waterford by 1-15 to 1-7 at Fraher Field, where Michael Quinlivan stepped up to the plate for the visitors. One would imagine however, that they'll need more than just the Clonmel Commercials star to have a solid 70 minutes in order to pull off an unlikely upset here.

Verdict: Cork

Kerry v Clare, Fitzgerald Stadium, 3.30pm

The Munster champions enter the fray on Sunday and are understandably huge favourites to send Clare into the qualifiers when they two sides meet in Killarney.

In their first championship outing since last September's three-point defeat to Dublin, Kerry are set to go in as 1/33 favourites when they welcome the Banner men to Fitzgerald Stadium and, needless to say, anything but a home win would be a colossal shock. Colm Collins' side already stunned Sunday's opposition earlier this season when they inflicted them with a three-point defeat in the McGrath Cup, but the difference this time around is that the Kingdom will have their best starting 15 available to them.

David Tubridy and Eoin Cleary are the main threats up front for the Division Three champions, while Kerry will have their usual array of options at the other end as Sunday sees them begin the pursuit of their 78th title in the southern province.

Verdict: Kerry

 

Ulster SFC quarter-final

Fermanagh v Donegal, Ballybofey, 2pm

The race for the Anglo-Celt Cup has thus far consisted of four one-sided affairs this summer, but that's expected to change when Donegal welcome Pete McGrath's Fermanagh to Ballybofey.

The Ernesiders had minimal fuss against Antrim in their preliminary round opener in Enniskillen and now face a Donegal side which lost four of their seven outings in the league before enduring a hiding against Dublin in the Division One semi-final. Word around the Tir Chonaill camp though is that they weren't overly concerned by the manner of that defeat to the Dubs and that there's a huge focus on provincial silverware this summer.

Having a strong record up north in recent years, home advantage and Michael Murphy, Paddy McBearty and Ryan McHugh in their possession is what sees Rory Gallagher's men enter the game as 1/6 favourites, but expect Fermanagh to put it up to them. Sean Quigley and Tomas Corrigan are more than capable of inflicting irreversible damage on any given day and with Eoin Donnelly they have a brilliant talent at centre-field that will take some curtailing from the hosts.

Victory means a date with Monaghan in the last four, with second place facing a trip to Wexford in Round 1B of the qualifiers. 

Verdict: Donegal

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