No change for Sunday was the brief bulletin from each camp ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland football final.

Armagh and Tyrone gave a vote of confidence to the teams which had brought them through the semi-finals to an all-Ulster denouement this weekend.

This means that Peter Canavan will lead Tyrone into the final. Canavan was last night named in the team after convincing manager Mickey Harte that he has recovered from ankle ligament damage that had threatened keep him out of the All-Ireland.

The team captain will line out at full forward, alongside strike partner and former pupil Owen Mulligan. Canavan has been receiving intensive treatment from Dublin physiotherapist Alan Kelly since sustaining the ligament injury in his left ankle during the All-Ireland semi-final over four weeks ago.

Ciarán Gourley, another injury concern for the Ulster champions, has recovered from a shoulder knock picked up in training last week and takes his place at right full back.

Harte has named an unchanged side for Tyrone's third All-Ireland final appearance and the bid to prevent holders Armagh from becoming the first team since Cork in 1990 successfully to defend the title.

Cormac McAnallen continues at full back, while Gavin Devlin, who has played just two championship games this season, is named again at centre back.

Seán Cavanagh continues his midfield partnership with Kevin Hughes, and Brian Dooher is named at right half forward, despite rumours that he has been hampered by injury in recent days.

Defending champions Armagh had been expected to field the same side given that they had no injury problems.

Their endorsement of the side that defeated Donegal in a hard-fought semi-final means the team shows four changes from the 15 that recorded the county's first All-Ireland win a year ago.

Goalkeeper Benny Tierney has retired, whereas Justin McNulty, John Toal and Paddy McKeever will be on the bench. They are replaced by Paul Hearty, Andy Mallon, Philip Loughran and Tony McEntee, twin brother of John whom he replaced early in last year's final after the latter had sustained concussion.

For Hearty this season has been the culmination of several years' involvement with the panel and the opportunity to step out of Tierney's shadow. But his predecessor is still active, helping out with specialised goalkeeping practice.

"Benny's been a great influence this year, even over the past couple of years just learning off him," says Hearty. "He's 13 or 14 years experience at this level and if you can't learn from him you can't learn from anybody. He just comes along once a week and goes through goal-keeping drills, handling, kick-outs, communication with the defence - all goalkeeper related rather than general training.

"Last year you were just sitting there and hoping - maybe not hoping for something to happen to Benny - preparing yourself if you had to come on to the field. "This year you prepare by getting your head right, preparing your kick-outs, concentrating on where you're going to put the ball, concentrating on communicating with your defenders.

"Things like that go through your head, visualising certain situations. Preparation has been a lot different that way."

Tyrone have only one survivor of the county's previous All-Ireland final appearance. Canavan played against Dublin eight years ago and scored 11 points as his county went down to the narrowest of defeats, and in the dying moments he provided the pass for Seán McLoughlin apparently to equalise but the score was disallowed for the wing back picking the ball off the ground.

The sides' most recent championship meeting was in last year's Ulster first round, which Armagh won after a replay. That day's winning selection also lined out for the All-Ireland a year ago and so shows the four changes listed above.

Tyrone show five changes from that day almost exactly 16 months ago. Peter Ward, Chris Lawn, Brian Robinson, Colin Holmes and Stephen O'Neill have been replaced, but all except Ward remain on the panel. O'Neill replaced Canavan in the semi-final with Kerry to such good effect that he must have caused Harte a bit of deliberation when finalising the attack.