Kerry v Tyrone at Croke Park leads Todays Football schedule
Todays football puts Kerry v Tyrone at Croke Park at 5pm, live on TG4, at the top of a Saturday GAA schedule that also includes Westmeath v Cavan and Armagh v Derry. For readers planning the weekend, the key details are the throw-in times, venues and live coverage already set for three major fixtures.
Cusack Park and Cavan
Westmeath meet Cavan at Cusack Park at 5pm on Saturday, with GAA+ carrying the match live. Cusack Park is sold out for the first time since a 2004 O'Byrne Cup final between Páidí Ó Sé's Westmeath and Seán Boylan's Meath.
That crowd adds weight to a game that pits a Westmeath side coming off Delaney Cup success against a Cavan team trying to stop a slide that has run since March. Cavan have not won since beating Offaly, and Dermot McCabe has had six weeks to work on what went wrong in their Ulster defeat to Monaghan.
There is a division gap in the recent form line too. Cavan were playing in a division above Westmeath in the league this year, yet Westmeath arrive with wins over Meath, Kildare and Dublin behind them, including an extra-time victory over Dublin in Leinster.
Armagh at the Athletic Grounds
Armagh face Derry at the Athletic Grounds at 7.15pm on Saturday, also live on GAA+. Armagh won the Anglo Celt again before this game, while Derry arrive after a bruising semi-final loss to Monaghan earlier this month.
Derry led by 10 points before that advantage was wiped out in normal time and the game went to extra-time. Ciarán Meenagh now takes his side into another high-pressure setting against an Armagh team with Oisín Conaty looking unmarkable at times, Jarly Óg Burns in a strong year and Kieran McGeeney choosing between two of the best goalkeepers in the game for the number one jersey.
For Derry, the problem is not just the last result but how it unravelled after control was lost. Armagh, by contrast, are carrying the form of a county that has already lifted the Anglo Celt and keep showing the kind of sharp edge that has made them a live contender for Sam Maguire.
Kerry and Tyrone at Croke Park
Kerry take on Tyrone at Croke Park at 5pm, with TG4 showing the game live. A Kerry victory would give Tyrone their fourth All-Ireland in five years, and that alone lifts the stakes in a fixture between two counties with recent history in this grade.
Kerry have not won an All-Ireland under-20 or under-21 title since 2008. They have still won six of the last seven Munster crowns, and their route here has already included both a group-stage loss to Cork and a Munster final win over Cork by a goal.
That mix of setback and response is what makes the Croke Park tie the sharpest item on the Saturday card. Tyrone have built an extraordinary recent record in this grade, and Kerry now have to match that standard on the biggest stage of the weekend.
