Much of the excitement about this rare edition of a Munster football final has been subdued by two considerations. Firstly, the counties met at the same stage five years ago - and Clare's sensational victory back then further undermines tomorrow's potential for history.

The second reason reflects well on Clare: since their momentous breakthrough in 1992, the county has been more or less accepted as a serious presence in inter-county football and consequently the semi-final win over Cork was astonishing only for the manner in which it was achieved.

Having been overrun by Cork's well-toned athletes for much of the match, Clare finagled a last-second goal by Martin Daly to win by a point. Maybe complacency played a role in Cork's second-half deceleration, but as is often the case with late comebacks, the defence played a major role in leaving the match susceptible to a winning goal. They will be required to make similarly strenuous efforts tomorrow.

In the other semi-final, Kerry had unexpected difficulties with Tipperary and took off Dara O Cinneide after less than half an hour, a second unhappy outing for the Gaeltacht man after a quiet NFL final in Cork.

As in that match, Kerry's half forwards were the more industrious line of attack, although Maurice Fitzgerald's place-kicking was important in keeping the team in front just as Denis O'Dwyer's goal was crucial in steadying the team's frayed nerves as Tipp closed to within a point.

Like Cork in Ennis, Kerry were extravagantly wasteful and ended the afternoon with 18 wides. Similar inaccuracy tomorrow will give Clare every indication that a surprise is possible.

The Munster champions were vulnerable at centre-field where Derry Foley caused endless trouble for Dara O Se and William Kirby. Unfortunately for Clare, this wasn't their most viable sector and only when Francis McInerney was moved to the middle did his team get a look-in.

Up front, Clare have some good score-takers. Martin Daly's goal-scoring is a long-standing phenomenon obviously still intact, Ger Keane has been a reliable point-taker since his accession to the team and his namesake David makes a welcome appearance after years of being sidelined with injury.

Whether he is the man to test Barry O'Shea's difficulty in the air is another question, but Clare have options in that regard, although Francis McInerney can't play everywhere.

Liam Flaherty has had a gratifying couple of outings in the last two months providing a strong centre to the Kerry defence against both Cork and Tipperary. But if McInerney starts on the 40, he will give his marker plenty to do.

One interesting aspect of the match is John O'Keeffe's management of Clare. In 1991 and '92, when he had charge of Limerick, O'Keeffe plotted quite successfully against his own county, pushing Kerry to the wire in both matches. No other inter-county manager could be more familiar with the opposition than he will be tomorrow.

Clare will still find scores harder to get than Kerry and with no evidence to suggest that centrefield will go decisively one way, the champions look set to retain their title.

Verdict: Kerry.