GAELIC GAMES:The mood settles on these matches and a consensus emerges. Mayo are the marginal favourites for tomorrow's first big match of the Bank of Ireland provincial football championships. In a way it's hard to figure out exactly why this should be.
Bearing the burden of a latest All-Ireland humiliation and a nonetheless dogged level of expectation, Mayo were also off the pace in last month's NFL final, albeit against the league's best team, Donegal.
Counterbalancing that is the fact Mayo were the second-best team during the spring and defeated Galway in the semi-final.
But compared to last year, when they overturned exactly the same prelude to nudge out Galway in the Connacht final, Mayo are different and on paper it would be hard to say they are improved.
Ten months or so ago the man of the match was Ronan McGarrity, who is a long-term absentee, and the player who made the biggest attacking impact was Ciarán McDonald, who has yet to play competitively this season but will probably sit on the bench tomorrow.
The reason Mayo are so well regarded now is John O'Mahony has taken over the reins of management.
Without straying into hyperbole it's safe to say this has to be the biggest week of O'Mahony's public life. The political stakes next Thursday are obvious but in football terms there is a heavy price on failure this weekend.
Whoever loses won't be out in the qualifiers until July and that will leave them with a lot of time to themselves in the company of their own heads and a sense of failure.
Tomorrow will probably see changes. Billy Joe Padden might have played full back in a recent challenge but it's unlikely David Heaney's good record on Pádraic Joyce will go ignored. That would allow Padden back to number six, where he spent the league, and Nallen to centrefield, where his performance against Donegal was a bright spot in the NFL final defeat.
Galway have been hit by the loss of Diarmuid Blake, who would have lined out at centre back, where he has been a solid presence.
Ja Fallon is a likely switch to the wing with Nicky Joyce, who plays despite a nagging groin injury, but there is a school of thought that Micheál Meehan's loss of form might be remedied by a move to the 40.
In the last episode: This has become a hardy perennial and this weekend sees the sixth successive championship meeting of the counties, who have also played each other in the past two seasons' NFL semi-finals. Last year in Castlebar Conor Mortimer kicked the last-minute free that gave Mayo victory but Galway have won three of the past five championship encounters.
You bet: Under the management of John O'Mahony Mayo have revived expectations and they are favourites at 10-11 with Galway available at 6-5 and the draw at 13-2.
On your marks: Ciarán McDonald has probably been the most influential player in these matches over 10 years. If he makes the bench after a long injury, he's likely to play some part, and Galway will need to put more thought than last year into marking him.
Gaining ground: Refurbished Pearse Stadium in Salthill can be very windy when the breeze comes off the sea and should be an advantage for Galway, who haven't lost to Mayo at the venue for 40 years.
Crystal gazing: The last three encounters have gone against expectations - which places Mayo in an awkward situation given that they just about merit their favouritism.
GALWAY: P Doherty; K Fitzgerald (capt), F Hanley, D Burke; D Meehan, N Coyne, M Comer; J Bergin, N Coleman; D Savage, J Fallon, N Joyce; M Meehan, P Joyce, C Bane.
MAYO: K O'Malley; L O'Malley, BJ Padden, K Higgins; E Devenney, J Nallen, P Gardiner; D Heaney, P Harte; G Brady, T Mortimer, A Dillon; C Mortimer, K O'Neill (capt), A Moran.
