Armagh All-Ireland winning team-mates Justin McNulty and Aidan O'Rourke will be in opposite dugouts in Portlaoise on Sunday.

McNulty is entering his third championship campaign as manager of the O'Moore County while O'Rourke will be making his championship debut patrolling the sideline for the Wee County.

Last year McNulty guided Laois to an All-Ireland quarter-final appearance via the qualifiers after they had been knocked out of the provincial race by Longford in the first round, 1-10 to 0-12.

They recovered from that set-back to overcome Carlow, Monaghan, Leitrim and Meath in the back-door system before giving a good account of themselves against Dublin in the last eight of the All-Ireland series.

Donie Kingston was not involved in 2012 but he has been named at centre-forward on the starting 15 which also includes 11 players that featured in the 0-12 to 1-12 loss to Dublin. Defender Cahir Healey is a notable absentee after deciding to throw his lot in with the hurlers.

Aidan O'Rourke, meanwhile, has handed championship debutants to John Bingham (left corner-back), Conor Rafferty (left half-forward) and Ciaran Byrne (right corner-forward).

In 2012, Louth defeated Westmeath by 2-9 to 0-14 at the corresponding stage before suffering a 0-12 to 2-22 defeat at the hands of Dublin in the last eight.

Their interest in the championship came to an end when Westmeath gained revenge for the provincial defeat in the first round of the qualifiers, 1-15 to 0-12.

The two counties finished level when they met in round 3 of Division 2 at Portlaoise in early March, Laois 1-17, Louth 2-14. McNulty's charges finished the league campaign in third place with four wins and a draw while Louth were right on their heels with three wins and a draw.

Another close encounter is expected this weekend but home advantage may just swing it in the O'Moore County's favour.

Verdict: Laois

Laois: Eoin Culliton; Mark Timmons, Denis Booth, Peter O'Leary; Darren Strong, John O'Loughlin, Padraig McMahon; Conor Boyle, Brendan Quigley; Ross Munnelly, Donal Kingston, Colm Begley; Damien O'Connor, Gary Walsh, Colm Kelly.

Louth: Neil Gallagher; Padraig Rath, Dessie Finnegan, John Bingham; John O'Brien, Derek Crilly, Adrian Reid; Paddy Keenan, Brian Donnelly; Andy McDonnell, Brian White, Conor Rafferty; Ciaran Byrne, Shane Lennon, Derek Maguire.

Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath)

Odds: Laois 1/2, Draw 15/2, Louth 2/1

Match Details: Portlaoise; Sunday, May 26th; 3pm. Tweet

Most Read Stories