Here are our previews for all seven football championship matches taking place across the country this weekend.

Saturday, June 25th

All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers Round 1B

Down v Longford, Pairc Esler, 2pm

Down will look to end their horrid losing streak on Saturday afternoon when they host Denis Connerton's Longford in Newry. After having lost all their league games in Division One, the Mourne men were inflicted with a 19-point humiliation by Monaghan in their Ulster championship opener which they'll no doubt be keen to bounce back from in front of home support. Longford went down to Offaly by eight points in Tullamore last month for an early exit from the Leinster SFC and the Midlanders will go into this clash confident that they can pile more misery on the hosts. A close contest is anticipated for this one and home advantage could well swing it for Eamonn Burns' struggling side.

Verdict: Down

Antrim v Limerick, Corrigan Park, 2pm

Antrim and Limerick meet for the second time ever in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers on Sunday, with their previous meeting in 2014 ending in a 3-11 to 0-15 victory for the Shannonsiders. The bookies are anticipating a different outcome this time round however, ranking the Glensmen as 4/9 favourites and with home advantage one would have to feel that the side jointly managed by Frank Fitzsimons and Gearoid Adams should have enough against their Munster counterparts. The Treaty men may have pushed Clare close in their provincial quarter-final (0-16 to 0-13), but they are still without a win in 2016 and a break in that trend this weekend doesn't look likely in west Belfast.

Verdict: Antrim

Offaly v London, O'Connor Park, 2pm

Offaly were narrowly pipped by Westmeath in Mullingar two weeks back but the draw has been kind enough to offer them London at home this weekend. The Exiles struggled throughout their league campaign in the bottom tier before last month saw Mayo hand them a 13-point defeat in the Connacht SFC. The fact that Nigel Dunne, Bernard Allen and Niall McNamee have been in from for the Faithful men in their last two outings doesn't bode well for London either, making a routine victory for the hosts look all the more likely.

Verdict: Offaly

Wexford v Fermanagh, Innovate Wexford Park, 5pm

This is the third qualifier clash between these two counties and Pete McGrath's team could have asked for an easier draw after their Ulster SFC defeat to Donegal than having to travel to Wexford. David Power's side were unlucky not to spring an upset against Kildare at Croke Park last month, losing out to the Lilywhites by a single point, but they'll still need an improved performance to topple the Ernesiders on Saturday. Tomas Corrigan has been basically faultless from frees so far this summer and despite not having hit the forefront in Ballybofey the last day, Sean Quigley still carries a deadly threat with him and could well devastate the hosts if he's allowed to get into his rhythm at Innovate Wexford Park.

Verdict: Fermanagh

Ulster SFC semi-final

Monaghan v Donegal, Breffni Park, 7pm - Sky Sports

All roads lead to Breffni Park on Saturday evening as two of Ulster's top guns go hell for leather once again for a place in the province's decider.

The last three finals up north have been contested between these two rivalled sides with Monaghan holding the upper hand against Donegal by two wins to one. Rory Gallagher's side will no doubt be looking to put that right this weekend as they square up against a Farney outfit which are coming off the back of a 19-point win over Down in the quarter-finals. Don't expect anything near that margin here, but Gallagher and his management team will need to come up with a way to try and nullify the imperious Conor McManus if they are to even out the last four summers and dethrone the Anglo-Celt Cup holders.

After a shaky period prior to half-time against Fermanagh in Ballybofey, the Tir Chonnail men delivered in the second-half and had good performers all over the field with rising stars such as Odhran MacNiallais, Paddy McBrearty and Ryan McHugh particularly prominent. It will be up to the likes of Drew Wylie and Colin Walshe to try and make sure that Monaghan don't leak too many damaging scores, while they'll also be looking for a more productive start at the other end than after having let the Mourne men get two points ahead of them in the opening quarter at Clones.

Like in previous years, a good start could make all the difference and another fascinating contest between these two certainly looks to be in store.

Verdict: Monaghan
 

Sunday, June 26th

Leinster SFC semi-finals

Kildare v Westmeath, Croke Park, 4.15pm - RTE

Kildare's five-week wait for a championship game comes to an end this Sunday as they collide with Tom Cribbin's Westmeath side at HQ.

This will be the first Leinster SFC meeting between these two counties in 11 years, with the Lilywhites boasting the better record with wins in their last three championship meetings which date back to 1975. When they met in the league this past January it took goals from Daniel Flynn and Cian O'Donoghue to secure a 2-9 to 0-11 win for Kildare, who would go on to achieve promotion from Division Three while Westmeath were relegated.

Cian O'Neill's team have seen a dip in form since achieving promotion however, losing out to Clare in the league final and scrapping past Wexford in their provincial championship opener. Therefore it seems like Sunday would be the time to deliver and justify the tag which ranked them as second favourites for the province behind all-conquering Dublin at the start of the competition. If that fails to happen, then John Heslin and co could well be taking a memorable scalp home with them from Croker on Sunday.

Verdict: Kildare

Dublin v Meath, Croke Park, 6.35pm - RTE

Dublin's dominance of the Leinster championship has saw this one time enjoyable rivalry develop into a one-sided affair in recent years, with Meath having lost out in their last three meetings.

When these neighbours last clashed two years ago the Dubs gave the Royals plenty of food for thought with a 3-20 to 1-10 drubbing at Croke Park and there's plenty that feel something similar is in store for the underdogs here. Meath are 14/1 to halt the capital juggernaut from reaching a remarkable 11th Leinster final in 12 seasons on Sunday and while you can say 'stranger things have happened', it's almost impossible to envisage it happening.

The Royals still remain the last side to defeat the Dubs in Leinster from 2010, when they buried five goals past them at HQ, but since that time these neighbours have taken completely different paths. Dublin have won three All-Irelands (2011, 2013 and 2015), whereas Meath have spiralled, with last year's unprecedented championship exit to Westmeath putting increasing pressure on manager Mick O'Dowd.

After securing Division Two status in the last round of the campaign, a first round win over Louth in the championship has been the highlight of the season so far, whereas Jim Gavin's charges will be looking for an improved display upon their return to HQ from that of their win over Laois in Kilkenny, which surprisingly saw them outscored after half-time.

Verdict: Dublin

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