NICKY ENGLISH HURLING ANALYST:IT'S PRETTY dispiriting looking at the betting for a Leinster final and seeing the handicap at 15 points.

In the past there was always an optimism that no matter how badly Wexford were going they would always be capable of raising their game for a Leinster final against Kilkenny.

In recent years, however, there hasn't been much, if anything, to encourage the county and any small bit of encouragement gets knocked out of them fairly quickly. Last year they showed improvement in the league until Kilkenny gave them a trimming in the semi-final.

I was one of those who thought that Wexford had definitely made progress until the Leinster final when the lights were turned out again. Supporters have had a bellyful and even the hurling public has had enough of Wexford going under so readily in these matches. I see no chance of Wexford winning this.

This weekend, having just annihilated Antrim, Galway are going to play Laois in a fixture that won't benefit hurling in either county. People would far prefer to see Kilkenny play Galway in a provincial or conference final.

The Leinster championship took another hit this year when Dublin failed again to reach the final. In recent years there's been a rising anticipation of a Dublin revival. Now you have to question where hurling is going in the county.

They put a lot into the Leinster championship and this was their chance to reach the Leinster final, play in an All-Ireland quarter-final and raise the hurling profile in the county but they couldn't take it. In the drawn game Wexford were so bad that I was wondering whether subconsciously they just didn't want to have to play Kilkenny again.

Dublin has been the last great hope of fixing the Leinster championship and bringing big crowds and new interest to matches but nothing's happening. Galway need to be in Leinster or a Rest of Ireland conference in order to balance the early part of the championship.

Instead this weekend we'll have a very downbeat occasion and with the weather forecast so bad in all likelihood a very poor crowd. What's in it for neutrals except to speculate on how much of an annihilation the final will be?

I feel desperately sorry for Wexford supporters, who have turned out in far greater numbers that their realistic prospects might warrant because there's not even the moral victory or heroic defeat any more. They could really do with the type of performance the team seem capable of producing against Munster opposition from time to time.

None of this is good for Kilkenny either. They'll get to an All-Ireland semi-final but that's simply what everyone will have expected and neither Brian Cody nor anyone else will have been able to take an accurate reading on their performance levels because we won't have seen them under stress since Tipp beat them in the league last April.

The key for Cody in this latest, three-in-a-row bid will be the fatigue factor. It's not bad now but it becomes more of an issue for multiple champions as the summer progresses. There also seems to be more of an injury issue this time around than there was in years one and two.

Noel Hickey at the moment reminds me of my own playing career at the end when I was getting muscle injury after muscle injury. Recovery doesn't get any easier.

Henry Shefflin is the biggest injury issue for Kilkenny this season, as he recovers from a cruciate operation. It's not an easy injury to overcome and one of his two team-mates who suffered similar damage, Richie O'Neill, has broken down while rehabilitating and the other, John Tennyson, still has issues with the knee.

To me, against Offaly, Henry seemed a bit more apprehensive and irritable than would have been the case against Offaly 12 months ago.

Injuries are a problem even for a county with Kilkenny's depth. Cody's management has been based on consistency of selection but with enough talent coming through to create pressure for places.

James Ryall and Tennyson both had great matches in an All-Ireland final (2006) and then didn't get their places last year.

But it's harder to keep that regeneration going when the reserve strength isn't as strong.

Cody needs to see the team under pressure. Hopefully Wexford will get a good start and raise their own confidence as well as bring the crowd into play.

Wexford improved between the draw and replay with Dublin. Stephen Banville gives them a physical focus up front, Eoin Quigley is a good player and Keith Rossiter has provided consistent quality in difficult circumstances but as a team Wexford are a long way short of Kilkenny's class and mentally they seem all too aware of that.

In the qualifiers Davy Fitzgerald takes charge of a county team for the first time when his Waterford side take on Antrim in Walsh Park.

There is a temptation as a new manager to interfere too much. I went through it in my first year and still regret, for instance, leaving Declan Ryan off the team for the replay with Clare in 1999.

I was reminded of this when looking at Ken McGrath's selection at full back. My view is that a) this won't happen and b) Ken is more likely to be moved in the other direction from centre back. Then again he mightn't play at all as rumours are that he's still not quite recovered from injury.

Word is that Waterford are training well and that the players understand they're under pressure after the departure of Justin McCarthy and have responded by working hard.

This won't be a definitive test but it will be interesting to see them in more serious matches.