Here are our previews for the two All-Ireland SFC qualifiers taking place on Saturday evening at Limerick's Gaelic Grounds and Markievicz Park in Sligo.

 

Saturday, July 22nd

All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers Round 4A

Cork v Mayo, Gaelic Grounds, 5pm - SKY

Mayo are at odds of 2/11 to come through in this one and it's no surprise to see considering the difference in form between these two over the past few weeks.

Stephen Rochford's team battled past Derry in extra time before accounting for Clare with a more assured second-half display in Ennis, while the Rebels enter this summer's qualifiers off the back of an 11-point defeat to Kerry in the Munster final three weeks ago.

The Kingdom had 10 different scorers against the Leesiders' defence in Killarney that afternoon and the likes of Cillian O'Connor, Andy Moran and Diarmuid O'Connor will look to exploit their opponents in a similar way on Saturday evening when the two sides collide in Limerick.

Talking up the opposition earlier in the week, Rochford described the southerners as "a big threat" to his side's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals, branding them "a big, physical and athletic team" and is wary of the 9/2 underdogs this weekend.

Donncha O'Connor came off the bench to kick 0-6 in the defeat to Kerry and the Ballydesmond veteran will need plenty from his supporting cast, which will be minus the services of Niall Coakley through injury, against a Mayo outfit which now look to be finding their feet, particularly with Aidan O'Shea returning to his best form around the centre of the field.

Verdict: Mayo

Galway v Donegal, Markievicz Park, 7pm - SKY

One of these two will have their season ended on Saturday evening (barring a draw after extra time) and with a quarter-final place up for grabs the stakes will be mighty high at Markievicz Park.

Galway fell flat in in their Connacht SFC final defeat to Roscommon two Sundays ago, managing just 0-12 against Kevin McStay's fired-up charges on their own home turf after having lost the aerial battle to the visitors, along with their Nestor Cup crown.

This weekend will require a marked improvement all round from the Tribesmen if they are to return to the quarter-finals and they'll need the likes of Shane Walsh, Eamonn Brannigan and Damien Comer firing early in order to keep the heat on Rory Gallagher's side

Gallagher is set to have a full deck to choose for the trip to Sligo, meaning nullifying the threat of Paddy McBrearty will be paramount for the Division 2 champions on Saturday evening.

This time last year saw the talented Kilcar man kicking 0-11 against Cork to advance the Tir Chonaill men into a last eight meeting with Dublin and he could well prove the difference again for his county this weekend.

Verdict: Donegal

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