Former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice says he expects Donegal “will be coming with everything they have” when they take on the Kingdom this weekend.

Saturday’s heavyweight clash in Killarney (3pm) was the standout fixture when the draw for the opening round of the All-Ireland SFC was made last Monday week and will commence the first of eight games over the next two weekends in the Sam Maguire Cup race.

Speaking on the RTE GAA podcast, Fitzmaurice feels that both teams will be hungry to earn victory despite the fact that it’s not a knockout clash.

"Whether it’s a club game or a schools game, a challenge match certainly at inter-county level, I don't think teams ever look at a safety net until they need it,” said the former Kerry defender.

"You're going out to play a game, you want to win and for Kerry, the only team that has beaten them this year is Donegal. They beat them twice, they beat them in the league and they hammered them in the league final.

"They’re (Kerry) going to be hugely motivated, it’s Killarney, they’re going to want to put on a performance for their home crowd.

"From the Donegal perspective, they’re obviously going to be disappointed to have been knocked out of the Ulster championship - they always viewed the Ulster championship as a huge part of their season and a huge target.

"It might help them in the long run but, again, they wouldn't have been thinking of that at the time, they were flat out trying to win an Ulster title. They would have been disappointed with that defeat to Down.

"They would have been using the few weeks, particularly the three weeks they’ve had since they’ve known they’ve been playing Kerry.

"You can be sure they’ve been fairly zeroed in and they will be coming with everything they have as well."

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