All-Ireland quarter-finals - all you need to know

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship has reached the business end with eight teams remaining in the race for Sam Maguire.

All roads lead to Croke Park from here, starting with two quarter-final double-headers this weekend as last week's preliminary quarter-final winners - Kerry, Dublin, Galway and Donegal - join the four group winners - Tyrone, Meath, Monaghan and defending champions Armagh.

The latter four all enjoyed a week off and after a gruelling group phase, rest and recovery will do them no harm going into this weekend.

For those four who are facing into their third championship game in as many weeks, there is momentum as they know one big performance will secure a semi-final place in a fortnight and a well-earned rest.

Galway proved last year it is possible to reach the decider despite playing that extra game, so all eight teams will know they are in play and it is time to empty themselves to keep their hopes alive.

With eight teams remaining, it's all very straightforward with two quarter-finals on Saturday and another two on Sunday, all in Croke Park.

Five teams who reached the last eight in 2024 have made it back to this stage: Armagh, Galway, Kerry, Donegal and Dublin, with the first four all successfully advancing 12 months ago.

This is Meath's first time in the knockout phase since the introduction of the new format in 2023 - the year they won the Tailteann Cup - while Tyrone and Monaghan have gone one step further than last year, helped of course by avoiding the preliminary quarter-final round after winning their respective groups.

Due to the policy of avoiding repeat pairings from earlier in the competition, the draw will be made after the completion of this weekend's quarter finals, with no confirmation as yet whether it will take place on Sunday or Monday.

However, depending on how the results fall over the weekend, we may be in a situation where is a draw is not required.

Where to begin? It's got to be the second game on Sunday as defending champions Armagh face Kerry in a repeat of last year's semi-final.

That game required extra-time and nerves of steel, but the Orchardmen got there by two points on their way to claiming the big prize. As a result, Kerry will have revenge on their minds.

The Kingdom had 10 points to spare when they grabbed the league points in Tralee back in March, but both teams will have a different look on Sunday as success will only be measured for the year by the end of July.

Armagh may have came up short on Ulster final day for a third year running, but they bounced back in the All-Ireland group stage with wins over Derry and Dublin to see them through to the last eight with a game to spare and even in defeat to Galway two weeks ago, there were plusses despite Barry McCambridge and Paddy Burns called ashore early on after picking up knocks.

Kerry also lost the last of their group games, stunned by Meath in Tullamore, but unlike Armagh, this came with repercussions as they were forced into second and therefore had to return to action last week when they swatted Cavan aside with David Clifford netting a hat-trick of goals.

His form is central to Kerry hopes and Jack O'Connor will have been delighted to get Paudie Clifford back on the field, but they did lose Mike Breen and Diarmuid O'Connor prior to throw-in to add to their injury woes.

It came down to fine margins last year and it will undoubtedly be the same this time around with Kerry ravenous for an ambush, while Armagh is not ready to relinquish their title yet.

Chrissy McKaigue's take: "Difficult one to call. Kerry don't like being beaten and they were beaten by Armagh last year when, at a stage, Kerry looked like they were going to run away from it.

"That will definitely be something that's spoken about this week in the Kerry dressing room before they play Armagh.

Armagh are at present the most finely tuned machine in the country. It's their squad depth, it's their ability to stick to the system. On any given day Kieran McGeeney could name six or seven players of a starting 15.

"They just have that cohesiveness about them that so many of their players have developed under him. Armagh, for me, start slight favourites but the winners of this game could win the All-Ireland because I think they're the two most capable teams in the country."

The first of the weekend games is an all-Ulster affair as Donegal take on Monaghan.

Jim McGuinness' Ulster champions have been forced to take the scenic route this year as their opening defeat to Tyrone in the group stage ultimately saw them squeezed into second, so they had to take care of business against Louth in Ballybofey at the weekend.

Despite a test for most of the first half, a Conor O'Donnell goal just before the break and another from Ciaran Thompson with 20 to play saw them pull clear as not for the first time on Sunday, Louth lost their way.

The teams met in the Ulster Championship with Donegal winning by two and to say Monaghan boss Gabriel Bannigan was unimpressed by referee David Coldrick would be an understatement as but was deemed the hooter prevented the Farneymen one last charge upfield by a split second.

Still, they recovered well in the group stage, winning three out of three against Louth, Clare and then Down, with Michael Bannigan and Jack McCarron goals helping them seal top spot.

Chrissy McKaigue's take: "When you look at Jim McGuinness' sides, they're very good at peaking for the right times of the year.

"I would say deep down Jim McGuinness is thinking they could have gotten a much worse quarter-final. He'll never come out and say that and there's danger with all the last eight teams. On their day, they're capable of causing each other bother but there's something tells me that Donegall will go to another level once they get to Croke Park.

"Irrespective of playing nine games in 12 weeks, Jim McGuinness is astute enough to know that you're not going to be in contention to win the big honours this year unless you build a squad and he certainly has built one. Donegal are in a good place.

"The narrative Jim is spinning at the minute is maybe partly to take the focus away from the players, to protect the players which would be what a good manager would do."

Saturday's second game is another tight one to call as Dublin, fresh from a narrow win over Cork last week, take on a Tyrone team which will have had the benefit of a week off.

The Dubs have certainly not set the world alight this year with a provincial loss to Meath and a reverse against Armagh in the All-Ireland group phase reminding us they are not the immovable object of five years ago.

However, close wins over Galway and Derry prove they are not an easy task for anyone.

Con O'Callaghan, who returned against Derry, was absent in last week's win, and his availability could prove crucial for Dessie Farrell's men against Tyrone, who the Dubs lost 2-20 to 0-16 to in the league.

In the championship, Tyrone recovered from a narrow loss against Armagh in the Ulster semi-final to ambush Donegal in Ballybofey. Although they lost to Mayo in a disappointing display, a strong performance against Cavan - with 11 different names on the board including top-scorer Darren McCurry - saw them straight through to the last eight.

Chrissy McKaigue's take: "Tyrone are capable. In Malachy O'Rourke, they have a manager who knows how to win. Dublin are definitely capable of beating anybody and I wouldn't be surprised if they went on to win the All-Ireland.

"But are they the same force that they once were? I don't see it, and the game may hinge on the fitness of Con O'Callaghan. Dublin are a different team when he's playing. He looked laboured against Derry and I wasn't tremendously surprised that he wasn't fit enough to come on against Cork.

" It'll be a big ask for him to play this weekend at the level we're used to seeing him play. For Dublin to have any chance this year, they'll need Con back and I don't know his current fitness status.

Sunday's first game features Galway - fresh off a thrilling win over Down - taking on surprise package Meath.

The Leinster title evaded the Royals with neighbours Louth making up for that 2010 final, but a win over Dublin highlighted their talent before they beat Kerry by nine points in the group stage to further enhance their giant-killing credentials.

Eoghan Frayne, Ruairi Kinsella and Conor Duke contributed 15 points between them two weeks ago as they moved straight into the last eight as group winners, but Galway are not lacking options in attack with Shane Walsh coming into his own over the past few games, scoring 1-7 against Down.

The Tribesmen are far from a one-man band, however, as Matthew Thompson and Rob Finnerty have been on song in attack, while Damien Comer may be ready to make his long-awaited return.

Chrissy McKaigue's take: "The new rules really suit Meath. They're so big and physical around the middle of the pitch that once they get domination of the kick-out - because the vast majority of kick-outs are going long - it's giving them an unbelievable foothold in the game.

"They have a range of forwards that can score from range also so the two-pointer comes into question for them. For Meath, they probably have exceeded expectations a fair bit even though they'll be sore about losing the Leinster final.

"I'd have to say Galway look to be in a position where they're more than comfortable of winning that. It's a shame for Damien Comer because if you have Comer in that team alongside Rob Finnerty, Shane Walsh, Matthew Thompson has come on splendidly this year, Cein Darcy, Matthew Tierney. Galway arguably have six or seven forwards that are the best in the competition."