The fever triggered by Tommy Lyons' Dublin footballers has swept across the city like a contagion. Contrary to most projections this evening's Bank of Ireland All-Ireland football championship tie completely sold out yesterday morning. The public allocation on sale at Croke Park was gone in a couple of hours. Earlier, a few hundred returns posted on the GAA website were snapped up in three minutes.

On top of the hype in Dublin is the general interest generated by a very entertaining drawn match and the (probably faint) prospect of good weather. The capacity crowd can legitimately expect an absorbing contest.

On the face of it, Mickey Moran's Donegal should hold the whip hand. They found the extra gear to pull back Dublin's three-point lead in the closing minutes 12 days ago. They also played a more intelligent, tactical game and showed greater proficiency in kicking points, surely a more reliable source of scores than Dublin's serendipitous goal supply from the in-form Ray Cosgrove.

The Ulster finalists would also feel they have scope for improvement, given half of their two-man strike force, Brendan Devenney, had a subdued day and failed to score from play, although his free-taking was as reliable as usual.

Adrian Sweeney's five points from play attracted most of the attention directed at Donegal after the match. It has certainly spurred Dublin's management into an unexpected change.

Peadar Andrews is detailed to mark Sweeney, with Coman Goggins switching to the wing. Left corner back is presumably a matter of repressed memory for Andrews after his Leinster final trauma on Ollie Murphy but in favour of the move is the player's greater experience and improvement in the interim. His application to the task of restraining Brian Roper after a difficult start was impressive.

Given that replays are all about what a team has learned in the drawn match and how it applies those lessons, how do the teams meet these criteria? The team selections indicate Donegal are more satisfied with their lot than Dublin.

The Leinster champions, however, make changes, moving to deal with weaknesses that caught the eye. Darren Homan's demotion isn't too surprising as he has struggled to emulate the high standards of last season. His replacement, Darren Magee, will win more possession and even if his distribution is suspect he will ease the pressure in the middle, a sector where Dublin suffered until Ciarán Whelan kicked in towards the end.

Jimmy McGuinness and John Gildea, together with Paul McGonigle out from the corner, ran the show cleverly until then but Dublin have improved their hand and should hold the line more effectively.

The most disappointing aspect of the Dublin performance was the fitful input of the forwards. Collie Moran was as subdued as in the Leinster final and is in danger of becoming "enigmatic" rather than giving full vent to his undoubted talent. In truth, he could as easily have been dropped as Shane Ryan, whose workrate hasn't saved him from the consequences of poor kicking.

But either way the return of Dessie Farrell is good news for Dublin. His ability to win and retain possession is unparalleled on the team and his use of the ball is sharp and perceptive, even if he isn't as mobile as once upon a time.

If Devenney will be hoping for a better show so, too, will Alan Brogan, who was so impressive against Meath and Kildare but quiet the last day. Of course the supply into attack wasn't good either and Dublin's half backs must improve on that part of their game in the knowledge that both Roper and Christy Toye have better in them.

But essentially Dublin have as much if not more reason to view the drawn match as a bit of a let-off. They could have won it but equally they could have lost it, playing below-par.

The changes show that the team's management expect more from them than was delivered. Finally, the loss of manager Tommy Lyons in the circumstances of the Bank Holiday weekend was a major setback for the young team that he has put together.

His return today should be the final factor necessary for Dublin to advance to next month's semi-final.