All-Ireland football semi-finals: Throw-in times, TV details, ticket and team news

When are they on?

Armagh are playing Kerry in the first All-Ireland senior football championship semi-final at Croke Park at 5.30pm on Saturday. On Sunday, Donegal will play Galway at the same venue at 4pm. There is also the Tailteann Cup final between Down and Laois at 3pm on Saturday, before the first semi-final.

Where can I watch it?

You can watch the two semi-finals and the Tailteann Cup final on RTÉ and BBC, as well as following live coverage on The Irish Times website.

Are there tickets available?

There are still tickets going for both games on Ticketmaster, €55 for the stands of which there is limited remaining availability, and €40 for Hill 16 standing tickets.

What is the weather forecast?

As it stands it is forecast to be a nice weekend for football, with some sunshine and 17 degrees, less than 10 per cent chance of rain and wind of less than 15km/h.

How did the teams reach the semi-finals?

Armagh got to the Ulster final, beating Fermanagh and Down, before losing to Donegal on penalties. They topped their group in the All-Ireland series before beating Roscommon by six points. Kerry are the only team to have won every match so far, winning the Munster title, all three group games and beating Derry by five points in the quarter-finals.

Donegal impressively won the Ulster title with victories over Derry, Tyrone and Armagh, and topped their group, albeit with a slip-up against Cork, before comfortably beating Louth in the quarter-finals. Galway won the Connacht title after an exciting final against Mayo, finished second in their group behind Armagh on points difference and then knocked out the champions Dublin out in the quarter-finals.

In the Tailteann Cup, Laois only finished second in their group behind Fermanagh, but shocked Kildare in the quarter-finals en route to the title. Last year’s beaten finalists Down have won every game of the competition so far, although Sligo gave them a scare before winning by two points in the semi-final.

What is the team news?

The team news will follow when it is made available. Most of the attention will turn to Galway’s star forward Shane Walsh and whether he can get fit for the game against Donegal. He limped off in their victory over Dublin in the previous round.

Who are favourites for the games?

Kerry are 4-9 to progress, with Armagh 5-2 in the first semi-final, while Galway are 10-11 to win, with Donegal 5-4. Down are strong 1-5 favourites for the Tailteann Cup, with Laois 4-1 outsiders.