With Dublin on course for a sixth straight Sam Maguire in the senior football championship, there are suggestions that this weekend's Armagh-Donegal clash has taken on a greater significance.
Enda McGinley joined OTB AM to look at the situation in Ulster, and believes that Donegal might be the team that could best put it up to the Dubs, should the clash come to pass.
Armagh-Donegal preview
"Arguably, they are [the second-best team in Ireland]," said McGinley.
"You are looking at Mayo and Galway as maybe a touch unproven; they have certainly shown lots of exciting potential and you would be excited by what is going on over there. But they haven't rattled into that top four, All Ireland final kind of place yet.
"Mayo have been there, done that - they've bought many t-shirts but not the winning one! We know what they are capable of, and they seem to be in a rich vein of form.
"That is going to be a titanic battle out west, and whoever is left standing in that arguably has a relatively straight path to an All Ireland final. They are going to be major contenders.
"Of those three teams, I would count Donegal as the most likely to take down Dublin, which puts them second place."
Donegal strengths
McGinley highlighted where he feels Donegal are particularly strong, as they shape up to face Kieran McGeeney's Armagh side.
While pointing out that McGeeney left out any Ulster sides when discussing the top teams, McGinley believes Armagh will be a tough test for Donegal.
"I was at Celtic Park for the Derry match, and Armagh sat very compact in the first half. They were really difficult for Derry to break down, and [Armagh] looked very comfortable at that.
"They were still able to break out at pace, because of the quality up front - that style suits them.
"Derry had two really good forwards that Armagh had to negate - Donegal have Jamie Brennan, Niall O'Donnell, Michael Langan, Ciaran Thompson, Paddy McBrearty and a certain Michael Murphy.
"Across midfield, Armagh are decent, but it Donegal are exceptional - it is like the land of the giants up there in that middle third."
Armagh
McGinley believes Armagh, even if they come up short this weekend, are on the right track.
"I think Armagh are certainly capable of mixing it, but I do think they are a wee bit below the consistency of the big teams. Ironically, it is getting these Championship victories under their belts that they need to do to keep progressing.
"But they are certainly showing signs - there performance against Derry showed to me that they can be a more resolute, solid and mature side, which is what you are expecting after all these years.
"If they keep on that course, they certainly have talent up front to mix it with the top teams. It's just that their overall status as a team means that they still gift other teams chances - even Derry had their chances."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
