Cork bidding for third final on the trot
Reigning Munster and All-Ireland champions Cork are heavily favoured to progress from today's SHC semi-final clash with Clare (throw-in 3.30pm) and make their third successive Liam McCarthy Cup decider.
Clare, under the tutelage of former All-Ireland-winning captain Anthony Daly, stand in their way at Croke Park in what is the Munster rivals' first championship meeting outside of the province.
The Banner men are looking to secure their first final appearance since 2002, and have been boosted by the apparent return to fitness of forwards Alan Markham (groin) and Barry Nugent (hamstring) - although there is still speculation that the latter will not start.
Nugent has been listed as Clare's right corner forward, but his hamstring is still recovering from a flare-up last Tuesday. 1997 All-Ireland winner David Forde could deputise.
Cork, meanwhile, boast an unchanged line-up from the one that dispatched Waterford in the quarter-finals. There is one positional switch - Ben O'Connor is moved from right half-forward to right corner forward, with Sarsfields' Kieran Murphy reverting back to O'Connor's original position.
O'Connor hit a crucial four points, three from placed balls, in the win over the Deise. The 2004 skipper will link up with Brian Corcoran and Joe Deane, who together accounted for 1-6 of Cork's 1-18 haul last time out, in a class-laden full-forward line.
The class looks likely to tell for John Allen's Rebels - their halfback line, marshalled superbly by captain Sean Og O hAilpin, is without parallel, and half-forwards Timmy McCarthy and Niall McCarthy can always be counted on for crucial scores.
So too can Clare's top-scorer Niall Gilligan - who has hit 0-29 in five outings this summer - but Daly's charges do not possess the team balance of the champions.
The only thing that will undoubtedly stand to Clare is the fact that they've played five times already in the championship.
What does their losing to Tipperary, who Cork beat by five points in the Munster final, back in early June? Since then, the Banner men have chalked up four straight successes over Dublin, Offaly, Waterford and Wexford, in last month's last-eight.
That win over Wexford - by eleven points - would have certainly grabbed the attention of this year's likely finalists Cork and Kilkenny.
The Rebels have been averaging 25 points per game this year. If Clare, who include veterans Frank and Brian Lohan and skipper Seanie McMahon, can match Cork stride-for-stride, they will be going some.
It seems unlikely, so expect Dublin to be painted red again tonight.
CORK: D Og Cusack; B Murphy, D O'Sullivan, P Mulcahy; J Gardiner, R Curran, S Og O hAilpin (capt); J O'Connor, T Kenny; K Murphy, N McCarthy, T McCarthy; B O'Connor, B Corcoran, J Deane.
CLARE: D Fitzgerald; F Lohan, B Lohan, G O'Grady; D Hoey, S McMahon (capt), G Quinn; C Lynch, B O'Connell; D McMahon, T Carmody, A Markham; B Nugent, N Gilligan, T Griffin.
