Analysis: This is a match that has a do-or-die aspect to it for both counties. Overall, we are presented with a scenario where two respected football teams have had their confidence dented and pride wounded. Having gone the qualifying route with Galway, I have an idea of how fragile a team can feel as it attempts to get its championship challenge back on the rails, writes John O'Mahony

To that end, Derry may have a slight advantage in that they have at least played a qualifier match against Wexford, and also this effectively represents an away game for Dublin, who are accustomed to playing in Croke Park.

I think Derry will look to a number of players with proven pedigree - Anthony Tohill, Paul McFlynn, Seán Martin Lockhart, for instance - to guide them through this. I believe Tohill will become a more central influence if Derry can progress but it should be said that Fergal Doherty is a fine and perhaps under-rated midfielder in his own right.

The likelihood is Derry will pull Enda Muldoon out around the centre of the field as well, making that area congested with big men. That tendency to employ Muldoon farther out does place an added burden on Paddy Bradley. Pure mercury on his day, he is maybe guilty of inconsistency, and having gone from man of the match to being substituted in the two games against Tyrone, he will be eager to atone.

But if Derry are to progress in the championship, they will need their other forwards to share the scoring burden. Even against Wexford, it was goals that got them out of the woods. They are solid defensively, with Lockhart the key. He may well pick up Alan Brogan from the start.

People forget that Derry contested an All-Ireland semi-final as recently as 2001. Possibly their failure to re-emerge from division two this season has encouraged people to write them off. The truth of where they stand will be clearer after this game.

Dublin's situation just highlights the volatility of the GAA scene. The games in general have reached an unprecedented profile but Dublin are on a plane all of their own. This management delivered three bits of Leinster silverware in 18 months and will probably be smarting from the criticism that followed the loss to Laois. Tommy Lyons will have rallied his team well in the fortnight since, but I am sure they will feel a small bit vulnerable still.

The real reason Dublin lost to Laois was because of their failure to convert chances.

They had a number of fine opportunities, ones they were putting away automatically last year. The experience of Ray Cosgrove mirrors that of his county. Last year, he really burst on the scene nationally and it is always difficult to follow that up.

First of all, he is a known quantity now and opposition defences figure you out. I feel Ray is a very fine player and will eventually play himself out of what is a minor dip but how soon he emerges from that remains to be seen. Similarly, Derry will have identified Ciarán Whelan's thrusts forward as a key to the Dublin attack and I think Doherty will be assigned the task of neutralising those.

It was widely remarked upon that their ability to score goals almost took Dublin the distance last year. The fear was their game would suffer if the goals dried up. They put up a fairly prolific score against Louth , 1-19, but it didn't happen against Laois. But the critical thing was that those chances were still created.

If ever Dublin needed a superb start, it is today in Clones. An early goal would do much to settle any doubts they may have and would encourage the crowd. Barry Cahill is a terrible loss, although Dublin have decent defensive cover. They are not naming a team until shortly before throw-in and the selection will be interesting. It could well be that they decide this is a day for battle-hardened veterans.

Although it is in Clones, I don't think the nature of this game will be typically Ulster. It won't have the same claustrophobic feel of many of the derby games played there. You will see plenty of man-marking - Paul Griffin will pick up someone, as will Seán Marty, but I expect it to be a reasonably clean contest.

The Clones factor should not be overstated. True, it is a long way from Jones's Road but it is one of the best GAA facilities in the country. And by training there all week, the visuals will be in place when the Dublin players imagine what awaits them this afternoon.

It is a tantalising game and hard to call. There are persuasive arguments to be made for both teams and the importance of this game for both counties is massive.

Overall, I would give a hesitant vote of confidence to Dublin. They are a dangerous football team and if they rediscover their scoring form, they are hard to stop. But they will need to be on their game from the outset.

In an interview with Keith Duggan