Westmeath team named for Down duel
Westmeath manager Dessie Dolan has named his team to face Down in the battle of the two unbeaten sides in Division 3 of the Allianz Football League.
There is one change in personnel from the team which defeated Antrim last time out, with experienced campaigner James Dolan coming in for Daniel Scahill.
Westmeath go into the game with several injury concerns and key defenders Jack Smith and Jamie Gonoud are both missing. In addition, Ronan Wallace and Charlie Drumm were forced off with injuries against Antrim, though both are listed to start the Down match.
Luke Loughlin missed the Antrim game through injury and though The Downs attacker is not listed to start versus the Mourne men, his presence on the bench means he's likely to see action at some stage. Indeed, there could be changes before throw-in as has happened in several other games.
John Heslin remains absent from the match-day panel as has been the case throughout the league campaign. But Lorcan Dolan is among the substitutes, the Castledaly man having been absent from the panel for the last couple of games.
Westmeath, Down and Clare are joint top of the Division 3 table with 10 points each, though the Banner men have played a game more, having beaten Antrim today (Saturday).
Free scoring Down have a vastly superior scoring difference and are likely to provide Westmeath with their toughest test to date.
If Westmeath can win Sunday's game at TEG Cusack Park (throw-in 3m), they will seal promotion with a game to spare. And even if they lose, they will have another opportunity to secure elevation to Division 2 in the final round against Sligo.
The Westmeath vs Down game is ticket only and tickets can be purchased on https://www.gaa.ie/tickets
Westmeath team (vs Down): Jason Daly; Kevin Maguire, Charlie Drumm, James Dolan; Andy McCormack, Ronan Wallace, Nigel Harte; Ray Connellan, Jonathan Lynam; David Lynch, Ronan O'Toole, Sam McCartan; Conor Dillon, Senan Baker, Danny McCartan. Subs: Jack Connaughton, Kieran Martin, Matthew Whittaker, Kevin O'Sullivan, Luke Loughlin, Robbie Forde, Daniel Scahill, Stephen Smith, Lorcan Dolan, Shane Allen, Conor McCormack.