Here are our previews for the two All-Ireland senior hurling championship quarter-finals taking place at Cork's Pairc Ui Chaoimh this weekend.

 

Saturday, July 22nd

All-Ireland SHC quarter-final

Clare v Tipperary, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, 3pm - RTE

The early throw-in on Saturday comes at 3pm in Cork as Clare and Tipperary battle it out for an All-Ireland SHC semi-final slot next month.

The game will mark the first inter-county clash to take place at Pairc Ui Chaoimh since the Rebel County venue's €80m upgrade and it's one which sees the Banner men missing both David McInerney (hamstring) and Aron Shanagher (chest) through injury.

Cian Dillon and Aaron Cunningham have been drafted into the starting line-up in the pair's absence, while Sixmilebridge's Jamie Shanahan starts at left half-back in place of Oisin O'Brien from the Munster SHC final defeat to Cork, with Jack Browne, Shane Golden and Ian Galvin new additions to the squad.

Clare are 7/2 underdogs against the All-Ireland champions and, while the latter only really got firing for the first time this summer against Dublin the last day, those odds are justified going into this one with Tipp boss Michael Ryan set to have a full selection available to him this weekend.

Seamus Callanan bagged 3-11 (3-4 from play) in his county's 22-point victory over the Dubs and while he'll be the primary cause for concern for Clare's defence going into this one, the Premier have plenty of quality scoring sources all over the field and that will likely be too much for a Banner outfit which are somewhat depleted at the back going into this one.

Verdict: Tipperary

 

Sunday, July 23rd

All-Ireland SHC quarter-final

Wexford v Waterford, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, 4pm - RTE

All roads lead to Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday as Cork's new-look venue plays host to what should be a hell of battle between Waterford and Wexford.

The Deise men bounced back from their surprise Munster semi-final defeat to Cork in emphatic fashion to say the least, posting 1-35 against Offaly at the start of the month, with 13 different scorers over the 70 minutes in Tullamore but they'll be doing well to achieve the same return in scoring personnel here.

Two of the most tactical managers in the game will be crossing paths this weekend in Derek McGrath and Davy Fitzgerald. Sweeper systems will inevitably be deployed on both sides, but if the trend from this year's championship is destined to continue then hurling should win out when all is said and done on Sunday.

When these two met last year, Waterford could afford to shoot 17 wides and still win out by 10 points, but, needless to say, this is a very different Model outfit from 12 months ago. They'll be looking to Lee Chin for inspiration up front while Austin Gleeson, who looks to have rediscovered his touch after some patchy form in the early part of the summer, remains the talisman for the Munster side.

Fitzgerald bowed out on this same stage last year with his native Clare and clearly won't want the same outcome again, especially with his charges having shown such promise throughout this season so far.

This one could go right down to the wire.

Verdict: Waterford

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