It's the turn of Monaghan to enter the lions den later today - can Malachy O'Rourke's charges throw a spanner in the Dublin works?

The Farney County enter the game on the back of a morale boosting, if a little leg draining, extra-time qualifier victory over Kildare last weekend.

But you won't hear midfielder Darren Hughes complaining: "It will be tough but we have prepared ourselves for every game as best as possible.

"Ah here, you're in an All-Ireland quarter-final. You're not going to start complaining. It's a great place to be. We're in a good place."

On the face of it, it's difficult to see the defeated Ulster finalists pulling off a shock victory but you would expect them to put up a better fight than Meath did in the Leinster final.

Jim Gavin and his players comfortably collected the county's 53rd provincial success with an emphatic 3-20 to 1-10 victory over their next-door neighbours.

Kevin McManamon was on fire for the All-Ireland champions hitting 1-5 from play while Bernard Brogan put his name to 1-6, 0-3 from frees and Gavin has a full deck to deal with for the last-eight clash.

As they enter the All-Ireland series, the men from the capital will undoubtedly be bracing themselves for stiffer tests but, at this stage, it's nearly impossible to argue against them retaining the Sam Maguire in September.

Verdict - Dublin.

Dublin team: Stephen Cluxton; Michael Fitzsimons, Rory O'Carroll, Philly McMahon; James McCarthy, Jonny Cooper, Nicky Devereux; M D Macauley, Cian O'Sullivan; Paul Flynn, Kevin McManamon, Diarmuid Connolly; Alan Brogan, Eoghan O'Gara, Bernard Brogan.

Monaghan team: Rory Beggan; Conor Boyle, Drew Wylie, Colin Walshe; Dessie Mone, Vinny Corey, Fintan Kelly; Dick Clerkin, Darren Hughes; Paudie McKenna, Paul Finlay, Kieran Hughes; Thomas Kerr, Chris McGuinness, Conor McManus.

Match details: Saturday, Croke Park, 6pm.

Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo).

Odds: Dublin 1/20, Draw 22/1, Monaghan 10/1. Tweet

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