Goalpost's hurling expert Nicky English is expecting no surprises this weekend, as the Leinster final and the second round of the Qualifiers take place. "Three heavy defeats at Kilkenny's hands last year were a sequence of vicious body-blows to Wexford morale. Going into last year's Leinster final, I was in the camp that believed John Meyler was on the right track and could galvanise his troops for a genuine tilt at the Cats' crown. I felt the league semi-final defeat might have been an aberration and Wexford could learn lessons from that reverse and bounce back stronger," he said. "But the two savage championship beatings that followed underlined the chasm in quality that has developed between the sides and all known form indicates that nothing has changed in advance of Sunday's game." Galway take on Laois in Salthill, and Waterford face Antrim on Saturday and English predicts more of the same from the favourites. "Whatever remote chance there was of an upset in either of the Qualifier fixtures evaporated entirely when the draw sent Antrim and Laois on their travels this weekend. I'd fancy both Galway and Waterford to beat big handicaps and suspect Antrim could fall foul of a hefty Deise backlash against the criticism the players have been receiving since Justin McCarthy was pushed out the door." Tweet

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