All-Ireland hurling final - all you need to know

Cork will face fellow Munster side Tipperary in the All-Ireland Hurling final

All-Ireland hurling final weekend is approaching and this year's Croke Park decider will pit Cork against Munster neighbours Tipperary on Sunday 20 July.

Cork were edged out by a single point, 3-29 to 1-34, by Clare in last year's final so will be keen to make up for that heartbreak this time round.

Tipp last lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2019 and will aim to bridge that six-year gap by taking victory in the Dublin showdown.

As final day beckons, BBC Sport brings you the comprehensive lowdown on all you need to know ahead of the showpiece occasion of the inter-county hurling season.

How to follow on the BBC

The All-Ireland final will be shown live on BBC Two across the UK, and on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Coverage of the match will commence at 15:00 BST, with Sarah Mulkerrins presenting. Throw-in is at 15:30.

She will be joined in studio by 2024 Hurler of the Year Shane O'Donnell, four-time All-Ireland winner Paul Murphy, Antrim great Neil McManus and at half-time by Cork legend Jimmy Barry Murphy.

Mark Sidebottom will have decorated multiple Cork All-Star Diarmuid O'Sullivan and celebrated former Tipp All-Ireland winner Seamus Callanan for company at pitchside.

Thomas Niblock will provide commentary, with expert analysis from co-commentators Jamesie O'Connor and Limerick's Seamus Flanagan.

The BBC Sport website will provide live text commentary, in-play clips, a match report, highlights and reaction.

Roads to the final

Cork advanced to the Munster SHC final by finishing second behind Limerick on points difference in the group stages.

The Rebels went on to win their provincial decider against the Treaty County thanks to a dramatic penalty shootout success and Pat Ryan's side progressed to the All-Ireland final courtesy of a thumping 7-26 to 2-21 victory over Dublin at the semi-final stage.

Tipperary's route to the final involved them taking their place in the preliminary quarter-finals where they saw off Laois on a 3-32 to 0-18 scoreline.

Liam Cahill's men then got the better of Galway 1-28 to 2-17 in their last-eight encounter, before defeating Kilkenny 4-20 to 0-30 in their semi-final meeting.

The Munster rivals will be facing each other in an All-Ireland final for the first time but it will be a sixth all-Munster final.

All-Ireland pedigree and recent meetings

Cork are the second most successful county in the history of the All-Ireland Hurling Championship with 30 victories in the competition.

They will be looking for a first triumph since 2005 however, having lost four finals since they last collected the Liam MacCarthy - in 2006, 2013, 2021 and 2024.

Tipp are close behind as the third most successful side, having won 28 finals, eight fewer than record 36-time champions Kilkenny.

The two sides have met three times this year, with Cork winning twice and Tipp once.

The Premier County came out on top 2-22 to 1-21 in their Football League encounter at Semple Stadium in February but Cork avenged that reverse by claiming the Hurling League Division 1A final in April by a margin of 3-24 to 0-23.

Also in April, the Leesiders claimed victory in the Munster round robin series by 4-27 to 0-24.

Team news

Tipperary manager Liam Cahill and Cork counterpart Pat Ryan

Both Cork and Tipperary have named unchanged starting sides for Sunday's All-Ireland hurling final at Croke Park.

Cork manager Pat Ryan recalls Seamus Harnedy and Cormac O'Brien to the Rebels' matchday panel as they take their places among the substitutes.

Harnedy missed the seven-goal semi-final demolition of Dublin with a hamstring injury while O'Brien was ruled out with a quad complaint.

Ethan Twomey and Jack O'Connor are the two players to drop out of the matchday squad.

Tipp boss Liam Cahill keeps faith with the same 15 which beat Kilkenny by two points in their last-four tie.

There is one change on the bench however, with Under-20s forward Paddy McCormack replacing Sean Kenneally.

Cork: Patrick Collins; Niall O'Leary, Eoin Downey, Sean O'Donoghue; Ciarán Joyce, Rob Downey, Mark Coleman; Tim O'Mahony, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Diarmuid Healy, Shane Barrett, Declan Dalton; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes.

Subs: Brion Saunderson, Damie Cahalane, Ger Millerick, Cormac O'Brien, Tommy O'Connell, Luke Meade, Brian Roche, Séamus Harnedy, Robbie O'Flynn, Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston.

Tipperary: Rhys Shelly; Robert Doyle, Eoghan Connolly, Michael Breen; Craig Morgan, Ronan Maher (capt), Bryan O'Mara; Willie Connors, Conor Stakelum; Jake Morris, Andrew Ormond, Sam O'Farrell; Darragh McCarthy, John McGrath, Jason Forde.

Subs: Barry Hogan, Joe Caesar, Seamus Kennedy, Paddy McCormack, Brian McGrath, Noel McGrath, Peter McGarry, Oisin O'Donoghue, Johnny Ryan, Darragh Stakelum, Alan Tynan.

What they say

Tipperary forward John McGrath: "The form is with them, I suppose. We've had a couple of tough outings against them already this year, but we've regrouped and found a little more along the way.

"They are probably a couple more years down the road than us. It took us a little to get into our stride as the season has gone on. There's a huge rivalry there going years back, between the teams and supporters, and a great bit of banter in it as well.

"It's great to be looking forward to it."

Cork manager Pat Ryan: "It's all about wining Liam MacCarthy and we're looking forward to it.

"There were parts of that performance in the semi-final win over Dublin we wouldn't be happy with. We'll go after that because it needs to be perfect to win an All-Ireland and it wasn't perfect last year against Clare."