Laois v Meath, Tullamore

It's a sign of how unhappy Laois's last year has been that they go into this afternoon's Guinness Leinster preliminary round final against a side that only beat Kildare in extra time with the issue relatively open. This may be a facile interpretation of the match but in the 12 months since Sean Cuddy and Pat Critchley took charge, a bright start has given way to gloom. Even the easy win over Carlow a week ago was marred by the loss of Niall Rigney - embroiled in an argument on his way back from taking a penalty Laois hardly needed to goal - to sending-off and suspension. Meath have maintained a good tempo after their debut year in Division One and - unlike Laois - are poised to avoid relegation. They'll give it a go but Laois, even without Rigney, should have enough.