Peter Canavan: Hit 1-5 against Cross

However, Ballinderry recovered well enough to defeat Rathnew in the All-Ireland semi-finals last February after an even longer lay-off so one can rest assured that the Derrymen will be well-prepared.

Indeed, Ballinderry's inactivity may have done them a favour as half-back Paul Wilson has recovered from 'flu and will be fit to line out.

All-Ireland winning skipper Adrian McGuckin is also regaining his fitness with every passing day after his leg break in April although he is expected to start Sunday's match from the bench.

Many people predicted that Crossmaglen's brawn would eventually subdue Errigal Ciaran but as it turned out, the Tyrone club's running game overwhelmed the south Armagh side.

A week on, Errigal will once again will be coming up against a bigger and more physical side and Mickey Harte will be hoping for a similar outcome.

However while most of the Crossmaglen players had won three All-Ireland Club medals, in reality the Armagh team was an outfit past its past.

In contrast, Ballinderry, despite their All-Ireland win last March, look like a side determined to win more silverware at both provincial and national level.

If anything, the Derry champions are a better balanced outfit this season with James Conway's emergence in midfield having taken some of the pressure off Enda Muldoon.

Conleth Gilligan: Ballinderry's playmaker

Conway and Sean Donnelly have developed into a formidable centrefield partnership this year and their battle against Pascal Canavan and Peter Loughran will be hugely significant.

Ballinderry look to have more options in attack.

Mark Harte, Rory McCann and early substitute Darragh Tierney all excelled in the Errigal Ciaran forward line against Cross last weekend but Peter Canavan is still the main man.

Marking Canavan is invariably an exercise in damage limitation but Niall McCusker is probably as well-equipped as anyone in Ulster to perform the task.

Ballinderry's great strength last year was that when their big name Muldoon struggled, the likes of Conleth Gilligan, Darren Conway and Declan Bateson invariably came good.

The Derry champions also have an extremely solid freetaker in Gerard Cassidy.

After their superb display against Crossmaglen last weekend, it seems folly to back against Errigal Ciaran but Ballinderry get a reasonably confident vote.

Other games:

AIB Leinster SFC (1430 GMT):
(Aughrim) Rathnew v UCD
(Navan) Mattock Rangers v Moorefield
Munster Club SFC (1400):
(Killarney) Kerin's O'Rahilly's v Nemo Rangers
(Tipperary) Monaleen v Clonmel Commercials
All-Ireland Club SHC:
(Ruislip 1400) Sean Treacy's London v Athenry