John O'Mahony Gaelic Football analyst A quick glance at the recent form of Dublin and Armagh points to only one result in Croke Park tomorrow, and that's an emphatic win for Dublin. They were superb in their quarter-final replay against Donegal, brushing aside the Ulster challenge with consummate ease.

In contrast, Armagh only stuttered past Sligo by two points on the second attempt, with a genuine penalty claim for Sligo also turned down at the very end.

So the Dublin rollercoaster comes back to Croke Park, as hot favourites to set up an An-Ireland final date with Kerry - the first final between the old rivals since 1985. All this should make for an easy game to call, except that it's not.

For a start we have to remember back to last year's championship, when Meath hammered Kerry by 15 points even though the Munster champions were the form team coming into that semi-final. To complicate it further, Meath were well beaten by Galway in the final, even though we had struggled against Derry in our semi-final. Form was not a good guide last year, and it may not be this year either.

Having said that, Dublin do have plenty of positives in their team at the moment. They showed huge improvement in the replay against Donegal, with Ciarán Whelan dominating midfield with one of the great displays of recent years. Darren Magee was almost as impressive with his work-rate, and that allowed Whelan to get forward so much.

Ray Cosgrove continues to take the scoring headlines, but overall, there is more shared responsibility in their forward line at the moment. Senan Connell, in particular, helped improve the

half-forward line which had been wiped out the in drawn game.

The defence also stepped up significantly, with Coman Goggins having his game of the summer, and as a unit they kept Donegal to just seven points.

It was interesting to see Shane Ryan called up, and I think Dublin have gone for stronger players earlier in the game because of the physical confrontation they can expect from Armagh. Dessie Farrell didn't set the world on fire the last day, and Jason Sherlock did okay when he came in, but Tommy Lyons wanted stronger players for the early exchanges tomorrow. I still expect to see Sherlock and Colin Moran - injury permitting, though he will be on the bench tomorrow - later in the game when the play opens up a little.

I also feel Dublin would have liked to have kept that performance against Donegal until maybe now, or the final. The challenge is to continue in this mode, but generally their pressure play all round the field was outstanding the last day, with everyone working like beavers to win the ball. That high workrate is essential again tomorrow, and something Dublin are capable of doing.

Armagh will know they didn't impress in the two games against Sligo, and that is a worry to them. What they need to do is recapture their form of early summer, when they upset league champions Tyrone with great composure and some clinical finishing.

What may be forgotten, though, is that Armagh are the more experienced team here. They are also physically stronger than Dublin. Plus they'll relish the tag of underdogs. They are also a difficult team to play against because of their tactics, with Kieran McGeeney always positioning himself just in front of the full-back line. He won't follow his marker, and midfield and half backs funnel back to close down the spaces so that it's very hard for the opposing team to create many scoring chances.

In general, I don't think tomorrow will produce a classic game. It may well be a dour sort of struggle, even though Dublin won't want to get into that kind of a contest. It will be another big test of Dublin's character, especially their younger players. Armagh like the long ball up to forwards like Oisín McConville and Diarmuid Marsden, and hit teams on the break, and that will be a new challenge for Dublin.

They will have to break that defensive stranglehold and get the ball forward quicker than Armagh can get their cover back. Tommy Lyons likes quick ball into the full forward line and they will have to use that to the optimum tomorrow. Any delay in delivering that ball will mean Armagh will choke it out.

The other thing is that Armagh are at the far end of their development curve. They are desperate to claim an All-Ireland in what some people see as a last chance for this team. And the fact that they have struggled to win in Croke Park could work both ways; it could be an incentive to win, or else it could start haunting them if they fall behind towards the end.

The hype in Dublin now is just incredible, and up to now the team has just flowed with that hype. There's no doubt it has benefited them, and got them playing with this so-called swagger, and the fans are totally going with the adventure. As it gets to the concluding stages, that hype and pressure is more difficult to cope with. It's building towards a crescendo now and they'll need that support to stay totally behind them tomorrow.

But I do believe Dublin can pull it off. The large pitch is also an advantage to them, and makes it more difficult for Armagh to close down the game in the style they like. Dublin also have the greater pace, and we saw last Sunday how well that worked for Kerry. The Armagh defence may have particular problems coping with that pace.

It's interesting as well is that tomorrow we have a Dublin team trying to win an All-Ireland at their first attempt. They are a fresh, young team playing with their own style and abandon. It definitely won't be easy for them, but I would still fancy them to progress to the All-Ireland final.

In an interview with Ian O'Riordan