But neither has an easy task, the 10km road race having attracted former American Olympian Amy Rudolph and Irish cross country champion Jolene Byrne.

Charlotte Dale, the 20-year-old former European junior cross country winner who has a fast 32 minutes 13 seconds road race time under her belt already this year, will also start a strong contender.

Yelling, who like the rest of the Norwich Union GB long course side under-performed in last month’s IAAF World Cross Country championships, is hoping to show her true calibre.

“It was a shocker as I had high expectations for both myself and the team,” said the European number one description of her own performance in St Galmier three weeks ago.

Yelling, who finished a disappointed 33rd, made no excuses for the fact she fell on the second lap of the race and never fully recovered.

“It was just one of those days when nothing went right for us,” said Yelling.

The team, tipped to repeat their third place of the previous year, managed only sixth position.

But Yelling, whose aim this summer is to run over 10000m at the world championships and then gain selection for England’s Commonwealth Games team next March, has put the experience behind her.

“I had a couple of days off when I got home, but after a little think about what went wrong, got straight back into training,” said the part-time Marlow school teacher.

“I don’t know what to expect in Dublin. It seems a very strong field and I’m hoping for a very good run-out.”

While Yelling aims to get over her mishap, O’Sullivan will be bidding to regain the title she surrendered to fellow Irish star Catherine McKiernan 12 months ago.

McKiernan has since retired and will not race but O’Sullivan is not expecting a walkover despite her record in the event.

The fact she has also been in heavy training for next month’s Flora London Marathon might also be a disadvantage, the heavy mileage not likely to help her in a fast 10km race.

“I felt I’ve been hibernating on another planet and when I’m down there no-one seems to know what you’ve been up to,” said O’Sullivan, who returned from Australia last Sunday after a three-month stay.

O’Sullivan, who has recovered from a pre-Christmas injury, said: “My training has been improving every week since I started again in January.

“I don’t know what to expect tomorrow and it will be my first step back up the ladder before an even bigger one next weekend,” said O’Sullivan of both events.

O’Sullivan, comparing her fitness with last year’s race, said: “I’m definitely running better and edging towards the form I had when winning in 2003.”

Craig Mottram’s bid to win a third successive men’s title appears likely, given his performance last week in the United States.

The Australian was second against world-class opposition in a 5km road race in Carlsbad, California.

Mottram is adamant he can carry that form on a complete a hat-trick of Dublin victories.

“Everything is going really well and really I’m not bothered who’s in the race,” said Mottram, who was eighth and first non-African finisher in last summer’s Olympic 5000m final.

Boston-based Mark Carroll, Ireland’s 5000 and 10000m track record holder, will be racing on the roads of the Irish capital for the first time.

John Mayock, last month’s European indoor 3000m runner-up who finished second two years ago behind Mottram but last year missed this race through illness, will also be looking to impress.