Having denied Tipperary a clean sweep of Munster hurling titles in dramatic circumstances earlier this month, Clare are the hottest of favourites to reach their second All-Ireland final in four seasons at the expense of Ulster champions Antrim.

Substitute Niall Arthur's injury-time goal handed the Banner a 1-16 to 1-14 victory over Tipperary in the Munster final and they now have their sights firmly fixed on emulating the 2009 side which delivered a first All-Ireland U21 crown to the county.

Both teams have played two games each in reaching this juncture. Antrim claimed their fourth Ulster title in-a-row on the back of comfortable wins over Armagh (1-18 to 0-10) and Derry (2-20 to 1-12). Clare walloped Waterford - who were Munster minor champions three years ago - by 2-22 to 0-9 before going on to beat Tipp and secure only their second ever provincial title in the grade.

With senior stars Seadna Morey, Colm Galvin, Tony Kelly, Aaron Cunningham, Conor McGrath, Patrick O'Connor and Padraic Collins among their ranks, it's impossible to see anything other than a Clare win. Antrim have been easily brushed aside in recent All-Ireland semi-finals and it won't be a surprise to see that trend continuing this weekend.

Verdict: Clare

Clare - TBC

Antrim - James O Mullan, Ronan McCloskey, Ronan Gillan, Conal Morgan, James Black, Matthew Donnelly, James McCouaig, Aidan McKeown, Stephen McAfee, Michael Devlin, Seamus Dobbin, Kevin McKiernan, Padraig Sairseil, Nigel Elliot, Conor McCann, Daniel McCloskey.

Odds: Antrim 20/1 , Draw 50/1, Clare 1/100

Match Details: Thurles, Saturday 25 August, 4pm

You can follow all the action on the hoganstand.com Live Match Tracker this Saturday Tweet

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