Mayo should never be accused of lacking bottle again after their rousing second half comeback with 14 men last Sunday. Sadly, their heroics have been largely overshadowed by the GAA's controversial decision to fix the replay for the Gaelic Grounds rather than Croke Park.

As unimpressed as most Mayo fans are about the choice of venue, a terrific atmosphere should prevail at the 45,000-capacity Limerick venue. The four-in-a-row Connacht champions will feel confident of completing the job, especially as Lee Keegan will be available after having his red card rescinded on Thursday night.

Both managers have named unchanged line-ups, though it won't be a surprise if Kerry start either Declan O'Sullivan or Kieran Donaghy, in light of the huge impact he made following his introduction last Sunday, and Mayo go with Tom Parsons and Andy Moran from the start.

It goes without saying that both defences will need to keep a close eye on respective dangermen Cillian O'Connor and James O'Donoghue who shot 1-8 and 1-3 respectively in the drawn encounter, while the midfield battle between Aidan O'Shea and David Moran could also be critical to the outcome.

While Kerry are much more familiar with the Gaelic Grounds, their record there isn't as good as you'd expect.

It's an extremely difficult one to call, with another draw a real possibility, but after the courage Mayo showed in the face of adversity six days ago, they may have enough to qualify for their third All-Ireland final on the trot.

Verdict - Mayo

Kerry team: Brian Kelly; Marc Ó Sé, Aidan O'Mahony, Shane Enright; Paul Murphy, Peter Crowley, Fionn Fitzgerald; Anthony Maher, David Moran; Michael Geaney, Johnny Buckley, Donnchadh Walsh; Stephen O'Brien, Paul Geaney, James O'Donoghue.

Mayo team: Robert Hennelly; Tom Cunniffe, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Colm Boyle, Donal Vaughan; Jason Gibbons, Seamus O'Shea; Kevin McLoughlin, Aidan O'Shea, Jason Doherty; Cillian O'Connor, Alan Freeman, Alan Dillon.

Match details: Saturday 30 August, Gaelic Grounds Limerick, 5pm.

Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath).

Odds: Mayo 5/6, Draw 8/1, Kerry 13/8.

Tweet

Most Read Stories