Paul Flynn's football championship predictions

Group 1 is the most finely balanced of all the groups, with all four teams level on two points, which means everything is on the line.

The standout game is Donegal v Mayo.

Mayo were very impressive against Tyrone, with a bit more injection of pace, and Paddy Durcan was outstanding in driving them forward.

But I just feel they will need more than that to get past this Donegal team.

Donegal haven't been quite at their Ulster Championship heights, but I still think that they have too much firepower for Mayo and too much presence around midfield, and I think they will come out on top.

In the other game, I suspect Tyrone will bounce back and beat Cavan, similar to the championship game that they played in Ulster.

That will mean that Tyrone top the group.

David Clifford an dKerry have been engaging in blitzkrieg

On to Group 2, and Kerry are safely through. It has looked comfortable, but they haven't topped the group yet.

They have a stiff test tomorrow against Meath. Meath have been doing well, with a draw and a win in the group stages so far.

I think Kerry will have too much for Meath here and their aim will be to blow them away early in the game. A real blitz in the first half, what we've been seeing from Kerry, could just be enough to hold Meath at bay.

Probably the more interesting battle is Cork versus Roscommon for the last qualifying spot.

Both teams have underperformed this season, bar Cork's performance against Kerry earlier on in the championship, they just haven't been great.

A draw is enough here for Roscommon and I think that could be that result that gets them over the line.

Monaghan and Clare are both still in the mix

Group 3 is very interesting and the game between Monaghan and Down is probably one of the headline games of the weekend.

Both sides are playing really great attacking football, scoring freely.

Monaghan's season under Gabriel Bannigan has been superb and their league win has been a platform for that, but Sunday could be their defining moment.

If they get the win, I see them as a real threat to anyone in the quarter-final.

Down won't make it easy. They've a running game, they've a spread of scorers and have been excellent, but I just fancy Monaghan to shade this one in a fascinating encounter.

The other game in the group, features the Leinster champs Louth, who should build on that positive second half that they put in against Down, and have a little bit too much against Clare to grab the third spot.

Dublin fans will hope to see King Con back in action

Group 4 – the 'group of death', as they call it – has Dublin against Derry in Newry, which should be a cracker.

Derry have been a different team in the group stages – high energy, high press, hard work out of possession.

That Galway performance showed just how dangerous they can be when they click.

Dublin will need a response to that poor showing against Armagh, especially in front of the posts.

They matched Armagh really well in that game – it was a bizarre game to watch – but they will need to be more efficient in front of goal.

Hopefully the expected return of Con O'Callaghan will be a huge addition to Dublin, he's such a leader for them.

But it's not all about individuals, Dublin will need the full package to click.

If they click, they can beat Derry. If they don't, Derry can absolutely sucker punch them here.

Armagh versus Galway is kind of a weird one as Armagh are through on top and Galway need the win to get through.

But I just feel that the squad depth Armagh have and the attitude that Kieran McGeeney has means you're not going to see Armagh take their foot of the gas too much.

They're obviously going to have Rian O'Neill starting. They want to get game time into him, and the likes of Soupy Campbell and these guys who have been showing so well off the bench will want to take their opportunity.

Galway have been underwhelming in their two games in the group, but they showed real character to keep themselves in it against Derry.

This is the moment that they need to kick into gear and show not just character, but quality to get over the line against Armagh. I think they might just do that.

Paul Flynn was speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland

Follow a live blog on the All-Ireland Football Championship on Saturday on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Saturday Game at 9.30pm.

Watch an All-Ireland Football Championship double-header, Monaghan v Down and Donegal v Mayo, on Sunday from 1.30pm. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 9.30pm.

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