All the Sam Maguire permutations: Clare the only county out

A LOT TO PLAY FOR: Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup permutations. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Derry, Donegal, Galway, Mayo and Monaghan are the five teams who have secured their last 12 places in the Sam Maguire Cup after two rounds.

However, all four automatic All-Ireland quarter-final spots are still up for grabs going into the final round the weekend after next.

Dates, times and venues for the final round on June 17/18 are to be decided by the Central Competitions Control Committee on Monday for the Tailteann Cup and Tuesday for the Sam Maguire fixtures.

Group 1.

Mayo are into the last 12 but can capture an All-Ireland quarter-final place should they avoid a loss against Cork in the final round. Kerry still have an outside chance of finishing first but will be more occupied with beating Louth to seal second place and a home preliminary quarter-final. Neither Kerry or Cork are safe just yet but a Kerry win will be good for their neighbours regardless of what they do against Mayo.

Group 2.

Galway have already earned a last-12 place but a point against Armagh in the final round will earn them a last-eight spot. Avoiding defeat to Westmeath will see Tyrone into the knock-out stages. The 2021 All-Ireland champions can still finish top on score difference. That possibility is still alive for Armagh, who are currently in the away preliminary quarter-final position having lost to Tyrone. An Armagh win against Galway combined with them beating Tyrone will see Westmeath jump into third spot. There is also a route for them via score difference if Armagh lose.

Group 3.

Should Dublin and Roscommon win their final round games against Sligo and Kildare respectively, Roscommon will finish first if their margin of victory is the same as Dublin’s. Their score difference is currently 10 to Dublin’s nine. In what appears to be the battle for third spot, Kildare and Sligo remain on one point, Kildare marginally ahead on score difference.

Group 4.

Clare are the only team to exit the championship at this stage and Derry will be expected to beat them in the final round. They will need to get over Clare by a bigger margin than Monaghan against Donegal to finish first as they share the same score difference. Donegal have a slim opportunity to go top but defeating Monaghan will give them a home preliminary quarter-final fixture.

Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-finals to be played next weekend

:

Offaly v Wexford, Fermanagh v Laois, Down v Longford, Carlow v New York

Quarter-final automatic qualifiers: Antrim, Cavan, Limerick, Meath.