Permutations: The Road To Sam Maguire For The Eight Counties Still In The Race

After a sensational weekend of All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, the final eight in the race for Sam Maguire is taking shape, and the permutations are as clear as ever.

It was a weekend absent of upsets, as both Kerry and Dublin emerged from their Saturday clashes triumphant. As expected, Jack O'Connor's men blazed past Cavan, racking up 3 goals and 20 points to Cavan's 1-17. While Cork made life more difficult for the men in blue, ultimately, a three-point buffer and late insurance point from Luke Breathnach was enough to see them progress to the quarter-finals.

Sunday's games were similarly predictable. Despite boasting a ten-point lead over Down at the break, Galway were pushed right to the brink, escaping Newry with a two-point victory. Meanwhile, in Ballybofey, Jim McGuinness' Donegal had far too much for Louth, blowing them out of the water and the All-Ireland Championship 2-22 to 0-12.

The four winners of this weekend's preliminary quarter-finals will now meet Tyrone, Armagh, Meath and Monaghan in next weekend's All-Ireland quarter-finals.

While the draw won't take place until Monday morning, the permutations are now clear. We already know that Kerry will meet Armagh and, owing to that, the draw is considerably clearer for the other six counties still in the race for Sam Maguire.

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The All-Ireland quarter-final draw will take place on RTÉ Radio 1 at 8:30 am, after the news on Monday morning.

The four preliminary quarter-final winners will be drawn against those who qualified via the round robin stages, and will firstly, be subject to the avoidance of a repeat of any provincial finals, and secondly, where possible, the avoidance of repeat pairings from the round robin stages.

All four games will be played at Croke Park next weekend, on the 28th and 29th of June.

Armagh - Having already played Donegal in the Ulster final, Armagh cannot meet them in the quarter-finals in any circumstances. The reigning champions have also already faced both Dublin and Galway in the round robin stages, which means they'll meet Kerry in the final eight.

Tyrone - Having played Donegal in the round robin stages, and with Kerry now set to meet Armagh, will face one of Dublin or Galway next weekend.

Meath - Cannot meet Kerry due to their earlier round robin clash, but remain eligible to face any of Dublin, Donegal or Galway.

Monaghan - Remain technically eligible to face any four of the preliminary quarter-final winners, but due to Kerry's clash with Armagh, will now face one of Dublin, Donegal or Galway.

Kerry - As a result of their own results are only unable to meet Meath. However, Armagh's permutations (see above) have forced the Kingdom's hand, meaning they'll have to overcome the defending champions to keep their Sam Maguire bid alive.

Dublin - Having played Armagh in the round robin stages, Dessie Farrell's men can still face any of Meath, Tyrone or Monaghan.

Galway - Like Dublin, the Tribesmen have already met the reigning champions and cannot face them again, so they will face Meath, Monaghan or Tyrone in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals.

Donegal - Jim McGuinness' men played Armagh in the Ulster SFC final, so they will definitely not meet them in the final eight. Having also played Tyrone in the group stages, they will avoid them as well (if possible). That leaves Donegal set up for a date with either Meath or Monaghan in the Sam Maguire quarter-finals.

The draw will be confirmed on the morning of Monday the 23rd of July, where exact fixtures will be set for the four clashes.

Armagh v Kerry - Croke Park, 28/29th June

Tyrone v Dublin/Galway - Croke Park 28/29th June

Meath v Dublin/Galway/Donegal - Croke Park 28/29th June

Monaghan v Dublin/Galway/Donegal - Croke Park 28/29th June