AFTER a few weeks of unbelievable action in the All-Ireland series, it all comes down to this weekend’s games.

As I stated last week, I don’t think there is any real need to tweak what we have based on this year’s evidence, but we will see what next year brings.

There are some massive clashes this weekend so let’s dive straight in.

Donegal head to the Hyde to take on Mayo on Sunday. Jim McGuinness spoke out after the last game saying that he didn’t feel that it would be the right thing to do to take Donegal to Croke Park.

I’d say the powers that be said to themselves that no one will dictate to us where they play and don’t play. Roscommon is far from ideal from a Donegal point of view, in terms of travel, but the cards have been dealt. Now, it’s just a case of getting on with it.

Donegal have had a bit of a mixed bag since the Ulster final, so Jim will be keen for his lads to find their consistent form again.

The Tyrone performance simply won’t do from here on in, so I’m sure that message has been hammered home all week.

There is a lot at stake here too, in terms of positioning within the group. A win is absolutely vital.

Mayo are coming into this high on confidence, having turned their season around last time out against Tyrone.

We always knew that Mayo would eventually bring that chaos but, personally, I thought that it might come in the last group game.

Donegal will be hoping that the win against Tyrone might just take a little edge of this Mayo team because we all know just how dangerous they are when they are a wounded animal.

Donegal have serious ambitions of going the full distance in this year’s race for Sam and I’m not sure people see Mayo in the same light. Based on that, I’ll go for Donegal by four points.

The other massive game for me this weekend is the clash of Derry and Dublin on Saturday evening in Newry. There is so much at stake for the whole group, not just these two teams.

Galway are hanging by a thread and what a shock that would be at this stage of the competition if they were to exit.

Derry turned in a heroic performance against Galway the last time out and should have taken the two points. The fact that they didn’t now leaves them in a real dog fight to survive.

If they can bring that fire and intensity then they have a chance. The issue for them this week is that they are facing another wounded animal in the Dubs. They will be out to right the wrongs of their last game.

Do I think Derry can do it? Of course I do. It wasn’t that long ago that this Derry team went toe to toe with Dublin when they had the likes of Brian Fenton, James McCarthy and Paul Mannion in their team so they have the ability to pull this off.

Elsewhere, I fancy Tyrone to get the job done against Cavan. Although Mayo came out with all guns blazing, Tyrone failed to hit the heights that they hit against Donegal so this week is the perfect opportunity to bounce back and secure top spot in the group.

We cannot underestimate the importance of placing in these groups. Teams finishing lower will be asked to play week on week and some playing away from home. With the condensed season, the last thing you want is a few games on the bounce as the likelihood of picking up some injuries will be at an all-time high.

Over the next few weeks, we will have some absolute crackers to look forward to, so I go back to my point at the start. Is there anything actually wrong with the structure we have at the minute?

This week’s Gaelic Lives previews the final round of group games in the All-Ireland SFC with Michael Kennedy, a Tyrone man and part of Dublin’s All-Ireland winning management team under Pat Gilroy and Jim Gavin.