All-Ireland SFC: Route from this weekend to Sam 'very difficult' says Canavan

Tyrone have recalled Darren McCurry for Saturday night's game in Ballybofey

Peter Canavan believes all the teams involved in this weekend's All-Ireland Football preliminary quarter-finals are at a big disadvantage in comparison to the sides already in the last eight.

The Tyrone great's own county are among the teams in action this weekend as they face Donegal away on Saturday.

The other games see Kildare v Monaghan, Cork v Roscommon and Galway v Mayo.

"The teams that are already in the quarter-finals are in a brilliant position," Canavan told BBC Sport NI.

"They've had a week's rest now from in some cases a tough game.

"But for the other teams, the likes of Tyrone, Galway, Mayo…..they had a tough game last week.

"They're going to have another tough game this weekend and then the quarter-final the weekend after. That's before you start thinking about a semi-final or final. Absolutely it's a very difficult route.

"That would put the favourites tag on any one of the quarter-finalists that are already there. Armagh and Derry are in a great position," added the two-time Tyrone All-Ireland winner.

While Canavan's own son Darragh starred as he hit 0-10 against Westmeath last Sunday, 2021 Sam Maguire winners Tyrone's were inches away from making a second successive early championship exit as John Heslin's last-gasp missed free saw the Red Hands hang on for a 0-18 to 0-18 draw which saw them squeeze into this weekend's stage.

Canavan says a repeat of that kind of display on Saturday night in Ballybofey will herald Tyrone's exit.

• McConville fancies Tyrone to battle past Donegal

"Now it's Donegal. I don't think they'll be taking them for granted. It's in Ballybofey. Tyrone know what to expect up there. A difficult assignment for them but it will be one that certainly will whet the appetite," said the Red Hand County great who was speaking at the launch of a new £35 million project to rebuild Holy Trinity College in Cookstown.

Canavan teaches at the school and is one of the fundraisers for the new sports facilities, which will include a sports hall, 3G pitch and floodlights.

"It's going to be one of two things. That form continues and carries on from last week. If they play to those sort of performance levels, they will not beat Donegal," added the Tyrone legend.

'If Tyrone don't perform in Ballybofey that's it'

"On the other hand, it's their neighbour. It's a big derby in Ulster so you would like to think that the players would up the ante and really be motivated.

"So you'd like to think there will be a bounce back of some description but there's no getting away from the fact that Donegal are a team very much on the up.

"Donegal have made serious progress from the first [Super 16s] game against Clare. From half-time on in that game, they have only been going in the one direction and Paddy Bradley and Aidan O'Rourke deserve a lot of credit for that.

"It's a great position to be in from a Donegal point of view because they were struggling during the league.

"They were coming to terms with the absence of Michael Murphy and that's understandable. But they have come to terms with that now. They appear to be playing as a unit which is vital for any team moving forward.

"In terms of Tyrone, there were a few good individual performances [against Westmeath] but as a collective, there's certainly more in them.

"They would need to hurry up and produce that. Otherwise, it's knockout. If they don't perform in Ballybofey, that's it," concluded Canavan.

Shane Carey replaces Darren Hughes in the Monaghan side to face Kildare in Tullamore on Saturday afternoon

Darren McCurry's return in place of Aidan Clarke is the only change in the Tyrone team announced for the Ballybofey contest, although further alterations can never been ruled out.

Donegal have also made one change in personnel with fit-again midfielder Jason McGee returning in place of Odhran Doherty as Patrick McBrearty is named on the bench.

After losing against Donegal in Omagh last weekend, Monaghan will aim to book their spot in the All-Ireland quarter-finals when they face Kildare in Tullamore on Saturday afternoon.

Monaghan's starting 15 announced on Friday shows one change from last weekend with Shane Carey replacing Darren Hughes in the forward line as Conor McManus once again is named on the bench.

Donegal: S Patton; M Curran, B McCole, C McColgan; C Ward, E Ban Gallagher, S McMenamin; C McGonagle, H McFadden; D O Baoill, J Brennan, C Thompson; J McGee, O Gallen, C O'Donnell.

Subs: G Mulreaney, P McBrearty, O Doherty, R O'Donnell, D Dorrian, B O'Donnell, J McKelvey, JR Molloy, L McGlynn, J McGroddy, P Brennan.

Tyrone: N Morgan; M McKernan, R McNamee, P Hampsey; C Quinn, M O'Neill, P Harte; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; C Meyler, J Qguz, R Canavan; D McCurry, M Donnelly, D Canavan.

Subs: L Quinn, F Burns, A Clarke, N Devlin, R Donnelly, N McCarron, K McGeary, M McGleenan, C McShane, S O'Neill, N Sludden

Monaghan: R Beggan; R O'Toole, K Duffy, R Wylie; K O'Connell, C Boyle, C McCarthy; K Gallagher, K Lavelle; S O'Hanlon, M Bannigan, R McAnespie; J McCarron, G Mohan, S Carey.

Subs: D McDonnell, K Hughes, C McManus, S Jones, D Hughes, D Ward, K Loughran, F Beggan, D McElearney, F Hughes, C Lennon.