How they stand in Division 2 of the Allianz Football League.
ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 2
Saturday March 18
Meath v Dublin, Páirc Tailteann, 3pm – RTÉ2 / RTÉ Player
Sunday March 19
Derry v Clare, Owenbeg, 1pm – BBC iPlayer
Louth v Cork, Ardee, 1pm
Limerick v Kildare, TUS Gaelic Grounds, 3.45pm
With five wins from five Derry are sitting pretty on top of Division 2 but promotion isn’t a mathematical certainty just yet. They can make it so by defeating Clare in Owenbeg on Sunday, but that won’t be a straightforward game.
Clare are second from bottom in the relegation zone, but they were unlucky to lose to both Dublin and Kildare by a single point and are capable of troubling the best on any given day.
They’ll probably need to get something from this match, because if they lose and Kildare beat bottom of the table Limerick, then both Clare and Limerick will be relegated.
Kildare have been so inconsistent this year that a win over an improving Limerick team that drew last time out against Meath isn’t a certainty though.
A big crowd is expected at the first Division 2 match of the weekend – the meeting of Meath and Dublin in Páirc Tailteann on Saturday.
Dublin will be keen to bounce back after their defeat to Derry and move one step closer to promotion whereas a wobbling Meath need to find their feet again.
They started the campaign strongly with two wins from two but then suffered bad defeats to Derry and Louth and only managed a draw last time out against a Limerick team that had lost their previous four games by an average of 12 points.
Cork and Louth both still have an outside chance of promotion and their clash essentially decides which of them stays in that picture.
Cork’s wins have been more high-scoring but Louth have gotten better with every game and with home advantage will fancy their chances of producing another upset.