With two draws already in the Leinster Championship, qualification could come down to something as blunt as how big a score teams can put on Carlow.
In that respect, Galway could find themselves counting the cost of their six-point win over Colm Bonnar’s side earlier this month.
Kilkenny had 14 points to spare on them and while Dublin may or may not be able to match that, you’d expect them to exceed Galway’s winning margin which could mean that a draw would do Mattie Kenny’s side when his native county comes to Parnell Park in the final round of matches on June 15.
When Bonnar perused the fixture schedule when it was set out, this game would have jumped out as the most winnable and with a two-week break after the Kilkenny game, Carlow should give a better account of themselves here.
They performed well against Dublin earlier in the year before losing by six points and while they have proven on occasions that they can compete, the gap is too great for them to bridge and they are being failed by the cut-throat nature of the system.
Another defeat here will leave them all but relegated, with a win in Wexford Park in their final game the only route to safety and even that might not be enough. Other than that, it would require Kerry to win the Joe McDonagh Cup for them to stay in the Leinster Championship in 2020.
Dublin have put themselves in winning positions in each of their last two games but were well beaten in the end by Kilkenny and were fortunate to snatch a draw with Wexford. They must show no mercy here.
VERDICT: Dublin
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