The elder Ó Sé will need to be at his best to help repel battle-hardened foes eager for revenge

FAR FROM being cowed by the prospect of facing a team hoping to complete a hat-trick of successive All-Ireland titles, Monaghan will relish confronting Kerry at Croke Park in a repeat of last year's quarter-final in which the Kingdom narrowly prevailed.

Monaghan will draw on that memory as a galvanising force as there can be little doubt the Ulster men are still smarting from that defeat. They go into tomorrow's game on the back of two tough matches in beating Derry and Donegal and can reasonably claim to be battle-hardened.

In contrast, Kerry haven't played for four weeks, although the word emanating from the camp is manager Pat O'Shea is satisfied with the intensity shown by the squad in training. There were major concerns over full back, midfield and the half-forward line after the dismal display against Cork and in fairness, O'Shea has addressed these issues in selection.

Kerry are expected to play with a two-man full-forward line in young Tommy Walsh and Kieran Donaghy, with Bryan Sheehan, Colm Cooper and Declan O'Sullivan foraging farther afield and then sweeping on to the breaking ball, maximising the return from the ball-winning skills and vision of Walsh and Donaghy.

Much will depend on the quality of the possession won in midfield and the focus from a Kerry perspective will be on Darragh Ó Sé and Séamus Scanlon.

Ó Sé, playing in his 70th championship match, is a totem for his team in terms of leadership and his performance is often a barometer of how his team are faring. If he is held or subdued, it'll have repercussions all over the pitch.

Scanlon needs to look forward rather than laterally, moving ball with the boot rather than the fist. Kerry need to kick ball quickly and accurately into the full-forward line to try and counter Monaghan's ability to filter back in a blanket defence style.

Monaghan's days of relying on Tommy Freeman for scores are long gone, with Rory Woods, Stephen Gollogly and Ciarán Hanratty chipping in regularly, as do their free-roaming midfielders Dick Clerkin and Eoin Lennon.

Paul Finlay is as good a left-footed free-taker as there is in the championship.

Discipline will be hugely important, especially in the opening throes of the contest. As has been seen in the championship to date those who incur early yellow cards become a liability for their teams.

Goals win matches and Kerry's ability to create clear-cut opportunities should see them through - but only after a very closely fought contest that might not be decided until the last few minutes.

In terms of billing, the clash of Tyrone and Mayo would probably be considered equally attractive on the weekend in question. The Ulster county are nowhere near as accomplished as the team that won the All-Ireland championship in 2005 as Mickey Harte has struggled to find a settled side, handicapped by injuries to players and dips in form.

This has militated against finding the sort of fluency that used to be a hallmark of their game. Even when Westmeath went down to 13 men the last day, Tyrone struggled to capitalise. They strike me as a team with potential but lack the quality at the moment to drive on in the championship.

I fancy Mayo to win, primarily because they look the more accomplished side, based on their performance against Galway in a game they lost, albeit after a titanic struggle.

The Connacht county have an edge in terms of scoring forwards, have arguably the better midfield and look less vulnerable in defence.

Seán Cavanagh's fitness will be of particular concern following his nasty tumble but it is arguably an over-reliance on a couple of the forwards that makes Tyrone appear a little vulnerable. Mayo could prove too strong.

Down play a very attractive style of football driven by a forward unit that is fast and incisive. They have the players to make and take opportunities and Benny Coulter is in excellent form. The availability of Dan Gordon could have a pivotal impact on the result.

Wexford were destroyed at midfield against Dublin and can't afford to be overrun here again today. It's a massive test of their young manager Jason Ryan in terms of being able to lift his players.

Today will demonstrate the character within the squad. I do expect them to bounce back and they too possess an excellent set of forwards, spearheaded by Matty Forde.

Down seem better equipped to win the midfield battle and if it pans out that way then their forwards should hold sway in what could prove a richly entertaining, high-scoring game.

Kieran McGeeney has imprinted his own style on Kildare, a slow process but one that has become more evident in recent times. Under Mick O'Dwyer, Kildare opted for a more free-flowing style but the priority for the current team is to have a harder edge defensively and do so in numbers in order to become harder to break down.

It sometimes leaves John Doyle, a magnificent footballer, a little isolated in terms of support.

The wide-open spaces of Croke Park will suit Fermanagh's hard-running, support game. They need to be more ruthless in exploiting opportunities and must unearth a free-taker from somewhere: they're missing so many cheap point-scoring opportunities.

If they don't overdo the short passing and not spurn too many chances, then they should prevail.