Aidan O'Shea says Mayo will lock horns with a more streetwise Galway on June 14th.

The June 14th clash at Pearse Stadium will represent the third successive year that Connacht's big two have met in the championship and, judging by the statistics from their victory over Leitrim, midfield talisman O'Shea expects the Tribesmen to provide cuter opposition this summer.

"I didn't see the game but Galway will be a bit more streetwise this year," the Breaffy ace told The Irish Independent. "In the last couple of years they've played six on six all over the field and we've dealt with them quite easily.

"So they'll definitely play a bit more defensive. It's not in their nature to do that but they've got some great footballers up front so they might be able to drop one off into their defence.

"They'll be a lot stronger than they have been over the past couple of years. I have no doubt about that with Gary Sice back in the team, their midfield a bit more experienced, Paul Conroy there too, a quality footballer.

"Whenever we play Galway, regardless of how well we are playing, they think we are not going to win for some reason, there's a lack of confidence among our supporters.

"Every time it comes around, there is talk that Galway are going to overthrow Mayo. I suppose in 2013 we probably felt we didn't have the respect we deserved at the time. But Galway have definitely progressed since we played them last."

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