Kildare impressed against Dublin. I think Monaghan miss McManus. Monaghan have good decent forwards but they missing too many chances. Karl O'Connor did impress yesterday though.
As for Kildare against Dublin both Niall and Daniel Flynn impressed. Luke Flynn really seems to have a bright future for Kildare. Cian O'Donaghue seemed to be very calm on the ball and made a few good passes.
I have to go for a Kildare win here.

oakleafersir (Derry) - Posts: 808 - 29/01/2018 11:17:43    2071834

Both teams will view this as a must win game. Conor McManus will be a huge loss for Monaghan as will the suspended Ryan Wylie -though Monaghan will rightly try to get his suspension overturned. I expect Monaghan to set up defensively and to try to attack quickly on the counter. Kildare will need to tighten up considerably in defence and be patient in attack. It should be a close game, but hopefully home advantage and a large passionate Kildare support will swing it Kildare's way.

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2990 - 29/01/2018 15:47:18    2072022

Conor McManus definitely won't play against Kildare on Sunday according to online journal Kildare Now. Should be advantage Kildare if they can replicate the form showed in the first half against Dublin.

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2990 - 01/02/2018 23:25:33    2073272

It's a winable game and a must win game. We only have a handful of those type of games in this division, hopefully we'll take advantage of them. If McManus isn't playing it's a big name missing for them. Hope Feely is going to be fit for us.

kildare73 (Kildare) - Posts: 854 - 02/02/2018 13:55:00    2073376

Jaden (Dublin) - Posts: 139 - 02/02/2018 14:31:17    2073388

As most other posters have stated its a must win game for both, the loser is in huge trouble with only 5 games left and as a minimum will have to win 3 from 5 and even then that might not be good enough.

I fully expected Monaghan to beat Mayo and with that in mind I'll predict a Kildare win. Its hard to know where teams are at in terms of fitness at this time of year and Monaghan have been one of the fitter div 1 teams this time of year but with getting beat by Mayo this may not be the case this year, along with McManus missing I'm expecting a Kildare win.

JDF (Galway) - Posts: 322 - 02/02/2018 14:34:39    2073390

Will be a tough game for us, I have great respect for Kildare since 2014. Indiscipline cost us (indeed all 3 ulster teams) last week. Should be a good tough encounter with two passionate teams and supporters. Draw wouldn't surprise me
What's up with Ollie Lyons is he injured?

mhunicean_abu (Monaghan) - Posts: 1044 - 02/02/2018 15:47:35    2073411

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2990 - 02/02/2018 17:05:13    2073430

St.Conleth (Kildare) - Posts: 1700 - 02/02/2018 19:12:36    2073452

kildare should have the edge in this one. Physically they will have the upper hand against a small Monaghan side. Our lads struggled to make the ball stick in the inside forward line last weekend, which will have to be addressed through the league. McManus missing will be an advantage in that regard.

Eddie the Exile (Monaghan) - Posts: 1057 - 02/02/2018 19:35:11    2073460

Kildare for me by a couple of points.

GGdub (Dublin) - Posts: 260 - 02/02/2018 19:55:24    2073466

No Kevin Feely or Neil Flynn for Kildare which as well as being our best midfielder & our best corner forward, are also our first & second choice free takers....so I wouldn't be that confident of a win.
(I'm struggling to see a reliable free taker in the named 15 ??)
Whoever loses are really going to struggle to stay in the division so fingers crossed it isn't us.
Cill Dara Abu.

KildareKelly (Kildare) - Posts: 593 - 02/02/2018 23:21:24    2073499

The loss of Feely is a big blow. Neil Flynn not so much because his injuries have prevented him from playing in recent games and the team have had to adapt to playing without him. Unfortunately he is prone to injury as shown last week in his brief appearance against Dublin.
Moolick will have a point to prove, not having started at Midfield since the Leinster Final. It's going to be tough and players will have to stand up and put their bodies on the line, otherwise a loss at home means an almost certain return to Division 2 or at the very least an uphill battle to stay there, with the consequent loss of confidence that two defeats in a row brings. The same applies to Monaghan. We can expect a titanic struggle.

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2990 - 03/02/2018 00:35:30    2073507

Feely gone balances the loss of McManus for Monaghan. Like an earlier poster said both first and second choice freetakers gone too. I don't know who will be given the responsibility now given that Callaghan isn't there either and he ended up on them last week. Good to see Ben McCormack getting a start. This game is really evenly balanced now.

kildare73 (Kildare) - Posts: 854 - 03/02/2018 11:15:56    2073544

Shelbourne (Monaghan) - Posts: 567 - 03/02/2018 12:06:28    2073555

Feely a huge loss but i think Moolick is a good replacement. Strong powerful player and a decent eye for goal. He wont be bossed in midfield either. Think he deserves more credit than he gets.

St.Conleth (Kildare) - Posts: 1700 - 03/02/2018 15:25:55    2073610

This is a relegation decider if there ever was one. The loser will be going down, while the winner is likely to struggle also. Kildare are the type of team that Monaghan struggle to cope with and with home advantage you would have to give them the nod here. It would be a pity to see Monaghan relegated all the same. They have given a good example to the other weaker counties in recent years. Cill Dara by 3-4 points.

MadgeKing (Cavan) - Posts: 493 - 04/02/2018 13:22:32    2073826

Did McQuillan get jilted at the altar by a Kildare girl or something?

if_in_doubt (Kildare) - Posts: 3685 - 04/02/2018 14:27:07    2073840

Bit unfortunate but Kildare are in a spot of bother already

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8591 - 04/02/2018 15:37:56    2073853

Big win for us, especially after the loss last week. Great to see some of the younger lads step up in a must win away game in division 1.

patk (Monaghan) - Posts: 936 - 04/02/2018 15:56:23    2073862