"You definitely don't want to miss this one - this is our final."

They're the words of Down full-back Benny McArdle who is confident he will shake of a niggling hamstring injury in time to face the Red Hand County in Omagh.

From a neutral perspective, the preliminary round clash up north is unquestionably the game of the weekend and although the bookies have installed Mickey Harte's charges as odds-on favourites, it would be foolish to write off the Mourne County's chances completely.

Down were disappointed as losing last year's semi-final to Donegal by three points (0-9 to 0-12) and forwards such as Mark Poland and Donal O'Hare are capable of unlocking the tightest of defences.

Champions Monaghan await the winners in a quarter-final clash but neither Harte or James McCartan will be looking that far ahead yet.

Joe McMahon and Ronan McNamee are out of Tyrone's plans because of calf and shoulder injuries respectively.

On the plus side, Kyle Coney appears to have put his recent injury woes behind him and he showed in the recent league draw against Cork what he adds to the team when sending over eight points.

Home advantage is a also a big plus in Tyrone's favour.

Verdict - Tyrone.

Tyrone team: Niall Morgan; Aidan McCrory, Danny McBride, Barry Tierney; Tiernan McCann, Matthew Donnelly, Peter Harte; Colm Cavanagh, Conor Clarke; Patrick McNeice, Sean Cavanagh, Ciaran McGinley; Darren McCurry, Niall McKenna, Kyle Coney.

Down team: Brendan McVeigh; Daniel McCartan, Brendan McArdle, Ryan Boyle; Declan Rooney, Aidan Carr, Conor Garvey; Peter Turley, Ambrose Rogers; Conor Maginn, Mark Poland, Kevin McKernan; Donal O'Hare, Niall Madine, Brendan Coulter.

Match details: Sunday, Omagh, 4pm.

Referee: David Coldrick (Meath).

Odds: Tyrone 2/7, Draw 9/1, Down 10/3. Tweet

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