The opening game in the All-Ireland series sees last year’s beaten finalists Kerry hosting Monaghan in a Group Four fixture in Killarney.
Monaghan have struggled in recent months. While they opened 2024 with victory over Dublin, they fell to relegation from Division One before being dumped out of the Ulster Championship in the preliminary round by Cavan.
However, they should never be discounted, and it’s important to remember they weren’t far off reaching last year’s All-Ireland final.
But Kerry, who beat Clare to win their 84th Munster crown a few weeks back, are expected to win this one.
In Group Two, Cavan – whose Ulster campaign was ended by Tyrone – travel to Castlebar to face Mayo.
While any trip to MacHale Park is daunting, Cavan do so without key forward Paddy Lynch, who will be out for an extended period with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Also heading west are Derry, who have had four weeks to reset after a bruising Ulster quarter-final defeat by Donegal. The Oak Leafers, still considered strong All-Ireland contenders, face three-in-a-row Connacht champions Galway in Salthill.
Like Cavan, Derry have lost a player to an ACL injury in Padraig McGrogan but they still have more than enough quality throughout their panel to mount another serious challenge for Sam after semi-final defeats in 2022 and 2023.
That 2022 loss was at the hands of Galway, who Derry have never beaten in the championship. Padraic Joyce’s side were edged out by Kerry in the 2022 decider, and while they failed to reach the quarter-finals last year, they looked back to somewhere near their best in the Connacht final win over Mayo.
Saturday’s other game sees Clare hosting Cork in Ennis in Group Three in what is a good opportunity for both teams to get points on the board before Donegal and Tyrone begin their round-robin campaigns next week.
