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Croke Park
Sunday, 26 September
Throw-in: 1530 BST

A repeat of the form which saw Mayo defeat Tyrone last month should be good enough to end the Westerners' 53-year famine at All-Ireland senior level.

Prior to their stuttering semi-final efforts against Fermanagh, Mayo had played the best football of the summer.

Few expected them to beat Galway in Connacht but John Maughan's side were far too good for the Tribesmen.

In their next big test, they were underdogs again against Tyrone but Mayo were again comfortably the better side.

With the pressure now firmly on them, Mayo struggled badly in the All-Ireland Semi-Final against Fermanagh. Indeed, the Ernesiders should have triumphed on both occasions.

But semi-finals are rarely pretty affairs as Donegal boss Brian McEniff will remember from his own team's efforts against Mayo in 1992.

Kerry now represent a challenge similar in magnitude to that posed by Galway and Tyrone earlier in the summer.

Jack O'Connor's Kerry outfit will go in as favourites, determined to atone for the failures over the last three years.

That brings its own pressure so both teams will go into the decider laden with baggage.

Dermot Geraghty's inclusion at corner-back in place of Conor Moran was something of a surprise but the U21s' selection could prove an inspired call by Maughan.

Darragh O Se (right) is likely to prove a big loss for Kerry

Many Mayo folk felt Geraghty should have been a first choice player during the summer and his inclusion mean that the side now possess two outstanding corner-backs with captain Gary Ruane on the other flank.

The corner men's expected battle with Colin Cooper and Johnny Crowley could go a long way towards deciding the outcome.

As ever, midfield is likely to have a significant bearing on the contest.

The absence of Darragh O Se will give Mayo supporters belief that their duo of Fergal Kelly and Ronan McGarrity will be able to do better than their efforts against Fermanagh.

O Se looks a huge loss for Kerry even though his replacement Eoin Brosnan is a fine player.

If things don't go well for the Mayo midfield early on, David Brady will be introduced and it wouldn't even be a shock to see the big Ballina man starting the game, as John Maughan is not averse to changing his selected line-ups.

Sunday's game offers Kieran McDonald the chance to show the doubters that there is place for his wonderful gifts in modern day football.

He can expect a few heavy hits from Eamon Fitzmaurice but the Crossmolina star has been taking those kind of blows all summer and has got up and got on with his business.

An All-Ireland medal would be fitting testimony to McDonald's talent and one suspects, the majority of the neutrals at Croke Park and among the hundreds of thousands watching the game worldwide, will be cheering the blond-haired forward and his team-mates from the west.