Sligo stand in Mayo's way of emulating the Galway team of 1956 to 1960 by winning five Connacht SFC titles in succession.

Niall Carew and his players pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the 2015 football championship when lowering the colours of a hotly-fancied Roscommon side in the semi-final (1-14 to 0-13) and their reward is a shot at the province's standard-bearers.

Back in 2012, the Yeats County pushed Mayo all the way before succumbing on a scoreline of 0-10 to 0-12 and manager Carew, in his first year in charge, is bullish about his side's prospects ahead of the Dr Hyde Park showdown.

"Do I think we can beat them? I do," he declared. "But I do believe that we have to really perform to our best to beat a team like Mayo."

The former Waterford manager and his backroom team have set their stall out by naming an unchanged team.

That means captain Mark Breheny (centre-forward) will line out alongside his nephew Cian (midfield) once again on what will be a day to remember for the Breheny family.

Sligo supporters will look to the full-forward line trio of David Kelly, Pat Hughes and Adrian Marren to punch some holes in the Mayo defence.

Mayo joint-managers Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes have identified their full-back line as an area that needs strengthening and they have handed the versatile Donal Vaughan the number three jersey.

Injury has ruled Kevin Keane out of the equation while Ger Cafferkey takes over from Chris Barrett at right corner-back in the only other change from the semi-final victory over Galway.

The holders' captain Keith Higgins, who is chasing his seventh Connacht SFC medal, is taking nothing for granted.

"Sligo are going to bring the enthusiasm that comes from having no pressure on them. The work-rate that they brought to the Roscommon game will be there again the next day.

"They'll be throwing themselves into tackles and flying about the place. It's up to us to match it and bring it to another level. The first 15 minutes of any provincial final are always going to be hell for leather - that's the kind of stuff you enjoy."

Verdict - Mayo.

Mayo team: David Clarke; Ger Cafferkey, Donal Vaughan, Keith Higgins (captain); Lee Keegan, Tom Cunniffe, Colm Boyle; Seamus O'Shea, Tom Parsons; Diarmuid O'Connor, Aidan O'Shea, Kevin McLoughlin; Andy Moran, Cillian O'Connor, Jason Doherty.

Sligo team: Aidan Devaney; Ross Donavan, Kevin McDonnell, Daniel Maye; Keelan Cawley, Brendan Egan, Eoin Flanagan; Cian Breheny, Niall Murphy; Criostoir Davey, Mark Breheny, Neil Ewing; David Kelly, Pat Hughes, Adrian Marren.

Match details: Sunday; Dr Hyde Park; 4pm.

Referee: Padraig O'Sullivan.

Odds: Mayo 1/10; Draw 14/1; Sligo 15/2.

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