Not so long ago, Tyrone would have been strongly fancied to win this local derby clash.

While an Armagh side without their All-Ireland winning Crossmaglen contingent were struggling in Division 1 of the Allianz League and were ultimately relegated along with Laois, Tyrone's new-look team were blitzing all before them in Division 2.

But things would appear to have taken a turn for the worst for the Red Hands since Kildare ended their 100 per cent record in the Division 2 final at Croke Park. Kyle Coney, who was one of the stars of the league, was first to succumb to a season-ending injury, while Ronan O'Neill and Tommy McGuigan were also sidelined. And last week came the devastating news that Sean Cavanagh won't play any part in this year's championship because of a shoulder injury.

That prompted Mickey Harte to issue an SOS to some of the county's recently-retired stars, and so far Brian McGuigan has been the only one to make himself available.

Armagh, who lost Steven McDonnell to retirement earlier this year, will be hoping to take advantage of Tyrone's injury woes, and with home advantage, they may never get a better opportunity.

They leaked five goals in a recent challenge match against Down in Lurgan, but with the Crossmaglen crew back on board, they will be significantly stronger than they were in the league and may be good enough to pull off a surprise win against a Tyrone side whose best route to the latter stages of the championship could be via the qualifiers this year.

Verdict: Armagh

Armagh - P McEvoy; A Mallon, B Donaghy, D McKenna; A Kernan, C McKeever, F Moriarty; K Toner, M Mackin; A Forker, K Dyas, A Duffy; J Clarke, B Mallon, C Rafferty.

Tyrone - Pascal McConnell, Aidan McCrory, Justin McMahon, Dermot Carlin, Cathal McCarron, Conor Gormley, Sean O'Neill, Joe McMahon, Colm Cavanagh, Ronan McNabb, Mark Donnelly, Peter Harte, Martin Penrose, Stephen O'Neill, Owen Mulligan

Odds: Armagh 15/8, Draw 15/2, Tyrone 4/7

Match Details: Ulster SFC quarter-final, Morgan Athletic Grounds, Sunday 10 June, 4pm Tweet

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