It's Round 4 of the All-Ireland senior football championship qualifiers and here we preview all four games taking place in Navan and Portlaoise.

 

Saturday, July 7th

All-Ireland SFC qualifiers round 4

Armagh v Roscommon, O'Moore Park, 3pm - RTE Newsnow

This could well end up being the closest of all four qualifiers over the weekend as both of these two look to make a return to the last eight race for the Sam Maguire Cup.

Armagh defied the odds last year by making it to the quarter-finals and the early throw-in in Portlaoise on Saturday sees Kevin McStay's Roscommon side standing in their way of a place in the inaugural Super 8s.

The Rossies were left to rue their poor shooting in last month's Connacht final defeat to Galway and will no doubt have worked on the issues plenty since their second-half faltering to the Tribesmen at Hyde Park.

Armagh have certainly blown hot and cold since being promoted from Division 3 in the spring and this weekend provides them with the chance to take a scalp against a 'Top 10' side.

Verdict: Roscommon

Cork v Tyrone, O'Moore Park, 5pm - Sky Sports

North meets south in Portlaoise on Saturday evening and if both sides can hit their rhythm it could well serve up a classic.

Cork will need no reminding of how close they came to toppling a fancied Mayo side at this very same juncture last year and they'll hold no fears when they cross swords with Tyrone at O'Moore Park.

Mickey Harte's men are fairly hot favourites (1/3) for this one, having won three matches on the bounce with the latest coming in the form of a three-point win over Cavan in Enniskillen, where Niall Sludden was most prominent for the former Ulster champions.

The Rebels have plenty of quality within their ranks though to provide the upset but living with Tyrone's deadly running game is another matter for them entirely, having folded badly against Kerry last time out.

Verdict: Tyrone

Fermanagh v Kildare, Pairc Tailteann, 7pm - Sky Sports

Kildare rose to the occasion last weekend in Newbridge to bring down the curtain on Mayo's season and turn around their own in the process.

Now Cian O'Neill's men head for Navan as 4/9 favourites to oust Fermanagh and the general feeling is that the momentum they've mounted will carry them through against the Ernesiders.

Whether or not Rory Gallagher's charges will still be carrying the hangover from their heavy Ulster final defeat to Donegal can only be discovered come 7.00pm at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday evening but the feeling here is they'll give the Lilywhites their fill of it in Round 4.

It's set to be only the second ever championship meeting between the two counties and Kildare should have just enough come the last whistle.

Verdict: Kildare

 

Sunday, July 8th

All-Ireland SFC qualifiers round 4

Laois v Monaghan, Pairc Tailteann, 2pm

Not even the staunchest Monaghan supporter can deny that the Farney men have had an ideal route to Round 4 of the qualifiers, having dispatched Waterford and Leitrim to get this far.

On Sunday afternoon, Malachy O'Rourke's charges will take on their third Division 4 outfit of the summer in the form of Laois and it could well be a tricky assignment against the beaten Leinster finalists.

The O'Moore men possess plenty of quality in attack, particularly in Donie Kingston and Gary Walsh, and have demonstrated they can shut down teams too, barring of course the Dubs.

For the record, when these two last met in the championship it was Laois that scored a 2-12 to 0-12 victory six years back in what stands as the only championship meeting between the two counties.

However, with Conor McManus and Conor McCarthy in their ranks, Monaghan should have enough to ensure history doesn't repeat itself here.

Verdict: Monaghan

Be sure to follow the hoganstand.com match tracker this weekend for all the live action from the All-Ireland football and hurling qualifiers and the Leinster SHC final replay.

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