Such is the interest in this year's All-Ireland football final that Donegal and Mayo could have sold out Croke Park twice over.

Tickets have been harder than ever to come by ahead of the first ever meeting of the counties in a Sam Maguire Cup decider and the first meeting of the Ulster and Connacht champions in the showpiece game since 1948 when Cavan edged out Mayo on a 4-5 to 4-4 scoreline.

Mayo appeared in All-Ireland finals as recently as 2004 and 2006, but it is 61 long years (1951) since they last came home with Sam. Donegal made the most of their one and only All-Ireland final appearance to date when they famously defeated Dublin in 1992, having accounted for Mayo by 0-13 to 0-9 in a torrid semi-final a few weeks earlier.

That was the only championship meeting of the counties until now, though they did contest the 2007 Allianz League Division 1 final which Donegal won by 0-13 to 0-10. The Tir Chonaill men also came out on top in last March's Allianz League encounter at Ballyshannon. Mayo raced into an early 1-2 to 0-1 lead, but were outplayed for the remainder of the game and eventually lost by seven points, 0-17 to 1-7.

While Donegal are favourites to win on Sunday, it would be no great surprise if Mayo were to finally end their All-Ireland famine. David Clarke, Barry Moran, Keith Higgins, Mickey Conroy and Alan Dillon all played in the 2006 All-Ireland final defeat to Kerry, and their experience could prove decisive against opponents from whom this will be a totally new experience.

Donegal and Mayo have much in common, not least their respective managers Jim McGuinness and James Horan who, after stellar playing careers, have revived the fortunes of both counties over the past two years. They epitomise the new breed of younger GAA managers who are well schooled in modern techniques and tactics, and are supremely organised. They aren't afraid to make the hard calls either as we saw in the cases of Kevin Cassidy and Conor Mortimer, who would have been seen as indispensable in previous years.

Donegal have improved beyond recognition since McGuinness was appointed manager in the autumn of 2010, having been twice turned down for the job prior to then. They've put Ulster titles back-to-back for the first time in their history, have adopted a defensive system which very few teams are capable of breaking down and are arguably the fittest and most driven team in the GAA. Their mission is to capture Sam and they won't rest until that is accomplished.

They've reached the decider the hard way by taking the scalps of Tyrone, Kerry and Cork - the three teams that have dominated the All-Ireland landscape over the past decade.

After a shaky start to his managerial reign when Mayo almost came a cropper against London in the first round of last year's Connacht championship, James Horan has transformed the Westerners into a hard-working, physically-imposing and mentally-strong unit. They've been a model of consistency this year, reaching the Allianz League final before going on to retain the Nestor Cup for the first time since 1996-97. After annihilating Leitrim in the Connacht semi-final, they struggled to get past Sligo in a poor-quality final which raised questions about their ability to mount an All-Ireland challenge. But they've since answered their critics with impressive victories over Down and Dublin, posting 3-18 against the Mourne County and 0-19 against the reigning All-Ireland champions.

In the absence of their injured captain and All Star full forward Andy Moran, Mayo's other forwards stepped up to the mark against Dublin with Cillian O'Connor (who was unerring from placed balls), Alan Dillon, Kevin McLoughlin, Mickey Conroy, Jason Doherty and Enda Varley all contributing to the scoring.

Once seen as a soft touch, Mayo have developed a hard edge under Horan and they don't come much tougher than Aidan O'Shea and Barry Moran, who are an outstanding midfield pairing. For Mayo to win, they will need to stamp their authority on proceedings and nullify the threat of Neil Gallagher, who destroyed the highly-rated Cork midfield with his aerial dominance in the All-Ireland semi-final.

The Connacht champions will also need to come up with a strategy to contain Donegal's most influential player, Mark McHugh, and to stop Karl Lacey from making his trademark solo runs forward which usually result in scores. They may also look at the possibility of isolating Neil McGee and Paddy McGrath in the Donegal full back line after the tactic worked well at times for Cork the last day.

Donegal's tactics are well known at this stage. While they have been easier on the eye this year and have upped their scoring return considerably, defending still comes first for their players and no matter what happens, they will stick rigidly to that tried and trusted game plan. Once they turnover possession, they break at pace and are fortunate to have defenders like Frank McGlynn and Karl Lacey who are well able to score.

Jim McGuinness will have studied Mayo at great length over the past three weeks and will have identified Alan Dillon as the man who makes them tick. He will also look to stop centre back Donal Vaughan from making surging runs up-field and may be tempted to isolate either Colm McFadden or Michael Murphy on Keith Higgins or Kevin Keane in the full back line.

The Donegal manager will also be stressing the importance of not conceding any frees inside the '45 with a dead ball specialist of the calibre of Cillian O'Connor around.

A truly fascinating contest is in store with both sides believing they can win. Donegal have had more hype to deal with in the build-up, and it will be interesting to see how they handle it. After dethroning the All-Ireland champions in the past two years, Mayo are desperate to push on and claim the big prize.

But they will need to take every chance that comes their way against an ultra-consistent Donegal team whose intensity and work-rate can carry them to the Promised Land.

Verdict:Donegal

Donegal - Paul Durcan; Paddy McGrath, Neil McGee, Frank McGlynn; Eamon McGee, Karl Lacey, Anthony Thompson; Neil Gallagher, Rory Kavanagh; Ryan Bradley, Leo McLoone, Mark McHugh; Paddy McBrearty, Michael Murphy, Colm McFadden.

Mayo - David Clarke; Kevin Keane, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Donal Vaughan, Colm Boyle; Barry Moran, Aidan O'Shea; Kevin McLoughlin, Jason Doherty, Alan Dillon; Enda Varley, Cillian O'Connor, Michael Conroy.

Odds: Donegal 8/15, Draw 15/2, Mayo 11/5

Match Details: Croke Park, Sunday 23 September, 3.30pm Tweet

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