There's a familiar feel to this year's Ulster SFC final with Donegal and Monaghan set to cross swords for the third year in a row.

It's Donegal's fifth successive final appearance while you have to go back to the 1920s for the last time that the Farney County featured in the provincial final on three consecutive years.

Malachy O'Rourke and his players got their hands on the hard won silverware two years ago but, otherwise, the Anglo Celt Cup has all but taken up residency in Donegal.

Rory Gallagher has continued where Jim McGuinness left off and they are favourites to land a fourth provincial title in five years.

The men from the north west have blazed an impressive trail to the decider as Tyrone, Armagh and Derry lie in their wake.

At the time of writing, no Donegal starting 15 has made public but they received a boost this week with the news that star forward Patrick McBrearty had been declared fit to start having overcome a knee injury sustained in the penultimate stage win over the Oak Leaf County.

Monaghan, meanwhile, have made two changes to the line up that booked their final ticket courtesy of a 1-20 to 0-13 semi-final win over Fermanagh.

Owen Duffy (right half-forward) and Stephen Gollogly (centre-forward) come off the bench to replace Kieran Duffy and Owen Lennon. Drew Wylie, meanwhile, is a surprise inclusion amongst the subs having suffered a cruciate ligament injury a month ago.

Monaghan prevailed on a scoreline of 0-9 to 1-4 when the sides met in Division 1 last March. It wasn't a game for the purists but, as far as Monaghan manager O'Rourke is concerned, the end result is all that matters.

"Everyone wants to go out and produce good football," he said mid-week. "And certainly the neutral supporter wants that, and if I go to a game as a neutral, I want to see good football as well.

"But, to be honest with you, when you are in charge of a team, you want that team to win and if Monaghan win this game two-one, I don't think there will be too many people in Monaghan complaining about the game as a spectacle.

"They will just be delighted to win the game. It is about trying to win the game whatever way you can - and if you can do it in an attractive fashion, all the better."

Verdict - Donegal.

Monaghan team: Rory Beggan; Dessie Mone, Vinny Corey, Ryan Wylie; Colin Walshe, Fintan Kelly, Karl O'Connell; Neil McAdam, Darren Hughes; Owen Duffy, Stephen Gollogly, Shane Carey; Dermot Malone, Kieran Hughes, Conor McManus.

Donegal team: tbc.

Match details: Sunday; Clones; 2pm.

Referee: David Coldrick.

Odds: Monaghan 12/5; Draw 7/1; Donegal 1/2.

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