Offaly are on a tightrope in tomorrow's Leinster football semi-final. Slip one way and they are into the last 12 of the All-Ireland series, tumble another and they're in the Tommy Murphy Cup.

Dublin's status as favourites isn't merely a matter of the usual unthinking priorities but a reflection of their two hard outings against Meath and Offaly's undemanding quarter-final win over Carlow.

That's not to suggest that there's nothing at stake for Dublin. The ongoing team tuning will benefit from another afternoon's football. Can Ross McConnell continue to adapt to the full-back role? He has good awareness of the ball's location and is comfortable in possession but the questions will be in the mana-a-mano stuff on the edge of the square.

It's likely that Diarmuid Connolly won't start and rumour abounds that Jason Sherlock is going to return. The greatest degree of interest will centre on whether Mark Vaughan can follow up last week's man-of-the-match display with something similar.

Alan McNamee competed very well at centrefield in last year's Leinster final until his red card, but as a unit Offaly will struggle to deal with the strength and mobility of their opponents.

DUBLIN: S Cluxton; D Henry, R McConnell, P Griffin; P Casey, B Cullen, B Cahill; C Whelan, S Ryan; C Moran, M Vaughan, D Connolly; A Brogan, C Keaney, T Quinn.

OFFALY: P Kelly; G Rafferty, J Quinn, J Keane; P McConway, S Brady, K Slattery; A McNamee, N Smith; N Coughlan, P Kelleghan, C McManus; T Deehan, PJ Ward, N McNamee.