The rivalry between these two counties means that Mayo would have been justified in feeling aggrieved at the sight of their neighbours taking the one chance they got at the All-Ireland whereas Mayo themselves stumbled on three occasions when presented with the opportunity.

It will be easy to motivate Mayo because beating the All-Ireland champions would be the ideal way to put the record straight and project themselves as Croke Park contenders again.

You have to ask two questions about this match: have Galway recovered sufficiently from the euphoria of last year's win and become once more the slick, fast-moving unit they were 12 months ago, and have Mayo really improved their ability to register scores or was the Roscommon match a flash-in-the-pan, a once-off?

Galway are justifiably highly-rated because of their pace, their ability to mix the long and short games and the understanding based on the common under-age experiences of several of the players.

John Maughan's chief ability as manager of Mayo has been in the area of defensive organisation, so it is interesting to see a new midfield team of James Nallen and David Brady bringing greater mobility than before. Both will be detailed to cover ground, particularly at the back, and limit the space for Galway's forwards.

They will get through plenty of defensive work and it won't be a surprise to see Colm McManamon hovering around the half-backs and using his stamina to cut down the space available. Tuam is a narrow pitch and should suit Mayo's defensive strategy.

Under Maughan, Mayo have always attained very high fitness levels and he puts a premium on getting bodies behind the ball, McManamon and the midfielders particularly. This packing of the defence could lead to Mayo being dangerous on the counter-attack. On the other hand, this could play into Galway's hands. It may suit Sean Og de Paor - who is down to mark McManamon - if his man plays the whole match in a deep position. Sean Og is a skilful ball player and could revel in being brought forward where he gets the opportunity to go for the occasional score - which he is more than capable of doing.

His dilemma will be deciding whether to play man-to-man on McManamon or to hold a defensive position. McManamon's workrate is phenomenal and no other Mayo player gets on the ball as much. The weakness in Colm's game is his distribution, which is erratic.

This is strange because technically he looks a good kicker but yet never seems to find the intended target. If that has improved - and there were some reasons in the Roscommon game to think that maybe it has - Mayo would benefit hugely.

Mayo's scoring against Roscommon was a sight to behold. It was either down to poor marking or a new confidence from the training pitch where Tom Lally (former soccer goalkeeper and Galway United manager) has been coaching them. But there seems to be better use of possession and creation of chances.

Kenneth Mortimer has brought leadership to a hitherto rudderless attack. He has the football to do it and isn't short of confidence. Beside him John Casey likes the space of the half forwards and has the speed to support his full forwards and this could be an area where Mayo can push home an advantage.

Mayo will be relying on, hoping for the John Casey of 1996 when he single-handedly took Kerry apart in that year's semi-final. Maurice Sheridan has proved himself a consistently accurate free-taker and Mayo will have no worries on that score. But the attack hasn't changed very much and it's hard to see where a decisive improvement has been made.

The midfield outcome will be interesting. A question for Galway is to what extent Kevin Walsh has regained last year's form after a long absence with injury. This is an area where Galway have a height and weight advantage, but Mayo's mobility could have a greater bearing.

Galway's forwards haven't so far been as good as last year. Michael Donnellan hasn't hit the dizzy heights of the All-Ireland success. I think his fitness level could be improved and that he's probably missing not having taken part in a Sigerson campaign this year. Last year I think it helped him with his foundation work.

Certainly when I watched him playing for Connacht in the Railway Cup he didn't look as good. Admittedly it was earlier in the year, but he wasn't producing as much in the match. We saw one or two devastating runs but then didn't see anything from him for a good while. But he'll be very motivated playing a Connacht final in Tuam.

Despite a possible midfield advantage and the huge defensive effort I expect from Mayo, Galway should acquire the 50 per cent possession to set in motion their potentially lethal forwards. In front of a home crowd, I can see Ja Fallon and Michael Donnellan rising to the occasion and as a result it's hard to envisage anything other than a Galway victory.

(In an interview with Sean Moran).