Who can Westmeath and Roscommon be drawn against?
With the draw for the group stages of the All-Ireland SFC taking place tomorrow (Tuesday), here we take a look at who Westmeath and Roscommon can be drawn against.
Westmeath are fourth seeds due to their finishing position in this year's Allianz Football League (fourth in Division 3), combined with the fact that they were unable to reach the Leinster final. The other fourth seeds are Donegal, Cork and Kildare.
For their part, Roscommon are third seeds along with Mayo (whom the Rossies defeated in their Connacht quarter-final), Monaghan and Tyrone.
To state the obvious, there is no possibility of anything resembling an 'easy draw' for Westmeath, considering that there is only one potential opponent who finished lower in this year's league standings. That team is Connacht finalists Sligo, who secured promotion from Division 4 earlier this year.
The identify of the first and second seeds will not be known until after the provincial finals are played.
Each of the provincial champions will be a first seed, with the provincial runners-up being second seeds.
Therefore, teams who are due to meet in a provincial final cannot be in the same group. However, teams who have already played each other earlier in this year’s championships can be drawn to the same groups.
In the Sam Maguire Cup draw, the 16 participating counties will be drawn into four separate groups and each group will consist of a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th seed. The seedings are as follows below.
Sam Maguire Cup seedings
1st Seeds: Galway/Sligo, Kerry/Clare, Dublin/Louth, Armagh/Derry.
2nd Seeds: Galway/Sligo, Kerry/Clare, Dublin/Louth, Armagh/Derry.
3rd Seeds: Mayo, Roscommon, Tyrone, Monaghan.
4th Seeds: Donegal, Cork, Kildare, Westmeath.
As fourth seeds, Westmeath will be away to a second seed in their opening group game on the weekend of May 20/21. And Roscommon will be away to a first seed in their first outing.
The top teams in each of the four groups will qualify for the All-Ireland quarter-finals, while the second and third-placed sides will meet in preliminary quarter-finals.
Based on their form this year - finishing third in Division 1 and defeating Mayo in the Connacht championship - Roscommon have every reason to feel confident of at least finishing in the top three of any group in which they are drawn.
However, Westmeath fans are surely less optimistic after their side was unable to hold on to an eight-point lead in their Leinster quarter-final against Louth.
The Tailteann Cup will follow the same format with the 16 participating counties also drawn into four separate groups based on their seedings.
One difference here is that New York will enter the Tailteann Cup at the preliminary quarter-final stage.
Cavan, whom Westmeath defeated in last year's inaugural Tailteann Cup final, are one of the first seeds along with Meath, Fermanagh and Limerick.
Offaly, who were edged out by Louth after extra-time in yesterday's Leinster semi-final, are among the second seeds.
Tailteann Cup seedings
1st Seeds: Meath, Cavan, Fermanagh, Limerick.
2nd Seeds: Down, Offaly, Antrim, Wicklow.
3rd Seeds: Longford, Tipperary, Laois, Wexford.
4th Seeds: Leitrim, Carlow, Waterford, London.
The draws for the Sam Maguire Cup and Tailteann Cup will take place at 1pm on Tuesday, May 2 and will be broadcast live on GAA.ie (GAANOW).