OPINION: Mayo take centre stage on bumper weekend of action

It's hard to believe that we are only in mid-June and there is a real possibility that the Mayo senior footballers could be out of the Championship by next Sunday evening.

A loss to Donegal coupled with a win for Tyrone in the other Group One fixture will mean Mayo will be out of the competition due to their head-to-head record against Cavan.

The bookmakers feel that this is the most likely set of results on Sunday afternoon with Donegal odds on at 4/11 and Tyrone overwhelming favourites at 1/8.

However, as is often Mayo's gift, they must now put their best foot forward and try to summon a performance that can keep them in the championship and advance to the knock-out stages of the competition.

It certainly is a case of 'do or die' at Hyde Park in Roscommon and Stephen Rochford in his role as interim manager will be certainly letting his players know that there really is no room for complacency once the ball is thrown in on Sunday.

All four teams go into the weekend on 2 points but the Round Robin format means that three teams will definitely advance, with two going through to the Preliminary Quarter Finals, and the table topper going straight into the quarter-finals, and in the process giving themselves a weekend off on June 20/21.

READ MORE: Mayo v Donegal: Time, TV, and ticket details ahead of All-Ireland tie

Big bonus

Having a weekend off is a big bonus but Donegal can only top the group if Tyrone lose or draw with Cavan, and Mayo know a victory for them will guarantee that they will top Group One and go straight into the quarter-finals.

That will be a huge motivating factor for them and they will be picking their strongest possible side to try and ensure they take the two points on offer.

Donegal do have a safety net in that they know if Tyrone beat Cavan, they are guaranteed to finish third in the group as they beat Cavan convincingly and enjoy the head-to-head over their Ulster neighbours.

So there are a whole host of permutations at play once the balls are thrown in at Hyde Park and at Brewster Park in Omagh, which is the venue for Tyrone and Cavan.

After an epic weekend of hurling action which saw Cork take victory over Limerick in a classic Munster Final, the focus will now switch to the football championship with eight games down for decision over the course of Saturday and Sunday.

Two days of action

Armagh are the only side who are guaranteed a place in the Quarter-Finals and Group 2 is the first group which will be decided on on Saturday afternoon, with Kerry up against Meath and Cork playing Roscommon.

Kerry will be favourites to top that group and advance to the Quarter-Finals, while the loser of the Cork and Roscommon game will exit the championship.

On Saturday evening, Group 4 will be decided with Dublin facing Derry and Galway taking on Armagh. Galway know that if Dublin defeat Derry, they are still guaranteed to advance in third place but Padraic Joyce will be looking for a performance from his team after only taking one point from their opening two games.

Group 3 will be decided earlier on Sunday afternoon when Down and Monaghan face-off to see who will top the group, while Louth and Clare clash to see who stays in the championship by taking third place in the group.

Then at 4pm, Mayo take centre stage with their game against Donegal being beamed live to the nation on RTÉ Two television.

However, a big Mayo crowd should still be in attendance despite the game being live on TV, as they try and turn Hyde Park into a cauldron for the game. Mayo have a very good record of late at the Roscommon venue and they will be hoping that fact could be a major factor in tipping the scales toward them in the chase for victory. It has all the makings of another great weekend of GAA action across the country.