Division One A

Three from Dublin, Cork, Armagh and Tyrone will advance to the play-offs. Galway and Offaly's slim chances depend on Armagh not winning their outstanding match against Leitrim (fixed for Crossmaglen on Saturday 3rd April). This postponed fixture has the effect of delaying confirmation of the quarter-final draw.

Dublin and Tyrone need a draw against Cork and Armagh, respectively, to be sure of qualifying. Armagh will be widely expected to take the two points from the Leitrim match. This gives them the edge over Cork who must beat Dublin or draw and hope that Tyrone lose to Armagh. At the other end, Leitrim are relegated and will be joined by either Offaly, Galway or Donegal. Donegal should move to safety by beating Leitrim leaving Galway and Offaly, who meet tomorrow, to fight over the remaining place. The losers of this game will go down and if it is a draw, the All-Ireland champions will lose out. By winning Offaly could move into a play-off position, but the odds are against it.

DIVISION ONE B

WITH the exception of relegated Laois, any of the other seven teams could theoretically qualify for the play-offs. Clare and Down are, however, long shots as they need to win well and hope Meath get comfortably beaten by Kildare. The Leinster champions need a point to secure their progress and Mayo need to win to be certain but both counties are likely qualifiers.

If Meath beat Kildare, they will advance but if they don't, they can be overhauled by a Monaghan success against Clare. If Monaghan and Meath both lose, they can be passed by Derry who could also catch Mayo if the westerners lose on their visit to Newry. Laois are already relegated and they will be joined by either Down or Clare. Clare have the slight advantage in terms of scoring average but tomorrow's matches could change that.

DIVISION TWO A

THREE counties are effectively in the running for advancement. Kerry are front-runners for the quarter-final place but need to win. To ensure promotion, a draw will suffice. As Roscommon are likely to both win and improve their scoring average against Kilkenny, they will be in pole position should Wicklow beat Kerry or if the Killarney fixture ends in a draw, in which case Wicklow would lose out. If Kilkenny beat Roscommon and Westmeath defeat Louth, the laughter around Athlone will be audible on the moon.

DIVISION TWO B

SIX of the eight counties are in with a shout of promotion but Sligo lead the way with nine points. Cavan and Longford are outsiders with six points and their chances are fairly notional.

Three counties are on eight points. Sligo will be favoured to take the quarter-final place and the other promotion spot will probably come down to a choice between Wexford, Carlow and Fermanagh. Given that all three will end up around the same scoring average - Carlow have the lowest but their match with pointless Waterford is the easiest - if they win, it will be hard to call. Carlow have a slight advantage in that they will be expected to win their match whereas their two competitors have harder fixtures.

QUARTER-FINAL LINE-UP

1st Div One A v 1st Div Two B

1st Div One B v 1st Div Two A

2nd Div One A v 3rd Div One B

2nd Div One B v 3rd Div One A