Galway will begin their defence of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship with the visit of Carlow to Pearse Stadium. The Tribesmen nearly defended their All-Ireland title last year only to come unstuck against Limerick in the final. They will be heavy favourites today but these sides met in the League earlier this year and Carlow pulled off a shock draw so nothing will be taken for granted. The match throws in at 3pm and you can follow all the action right here at Irish Mirror Sport. GALWAY: Colm Callanan; Jack Grealish, Ronan Burke, Aidan Harte; Padraig Mannion, Gearoid McInerney, Kevin Hussey; David Burke, Cathal Mannion; Niall Burke, Jason Flynn, Brian Concannon; Conor Whelan, Conor Cooney, Davy Glennon CARLOW: Brian Tracey; Kevin McDonald, Paul Doyle, Michael Doyle; Eoin Nolan, David English, Richard Coady; Jack Kavanagh, Seán Whelan; John M Nolan, Martin Kavanagh, Edward Byrne; James Doyle, Séamus Murphy, Chris Nolan If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.<doc-sep>Leinster SHC: Kilkenny v Dublin, Nowlan Park Kilkenny are very, very difficult to beat at Nowlan Park, but they have a long injury list and they are mainly in defence. The Cats will be without Joey Holden, Cillian Buckley, Conor Delaney and goalkeeper Eoin Murphy, and they are vulnerable ahead of the opening round. The way that Dublin play however, with centre-back Sean Moran sitting back, it might just play into their hands even if Kilkenny are missing these lads. Brian Cody's side, only beaten by two points by Limerick last year, with the influx of some of Ballyhale’s All-Ireland winners, including young Adrian Mullen, will find a way. Verdict: Kilkenny Leinster SHC: Galway v Carlow Galway will win this. The big them for them over the next few weeks is how do they play without Joe Canning? Who comes into the team and who carries his responsibility and leadership up front? Without being condescending towards Carlow, it is about how they compete with the top teams at this level. They have done brilliant work to get there. Can they stay in Leinster with huge matches coming up? Have they enough of a panel to compete week after week? They are heading to Salthill in optimism, but Galway will win. Verdict: Galway Munster SHC: Waterford v Clare, Walsh Park This is a massive game for Waterford having not had any home games last year and enduring a crippling injury list. Up to 70% of the home matches at this level are won by the home team and the Deise did not have that advantage and yet competed well. Waterford hammered Clare in the League earlier this year, but that’s not going to happen this time around, though the Banner will be missing Conor Cleary through suspension and Jamie Shanahan through injury. Waterford’s physicality and strength could win the day. Verdict: Waterford Munster SHC: Cork v Tipperary, Pairc Ui Chaoimh They are expecting 35,000 – 40,000 down on Leeside for this one, which for a first round-round game is incredible. With all their flair and speed, Cork are going for a third Munster title on the trot against a Tipp side whose form has been dismal over the past 12 – 18 months. The Premier County have only won three out of 12 Championship and League matches, yet I think the return of Liam Sheedy is huge for them. He has shown great loyalty to his panel. They have been very quiet and I think he brings a ferocious desire to it. There is an emotional connection between the manager and the team and I am expecting a ferocious backlash from them. This could be the one game of the weekend that doesn’t go the way of the home side. Verdict: Tipperary Michael Duignan was speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland programme<doc-sep>Want the latest from the world of GAA, horse racing, football, rugby and more straight to your inbox? Sign up to our FREE newsletter Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Yes please! Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice The 2019 Leinster Final will take place between Wexford and Kilkenny on June 30th after a stunning final day of the Championship. Dublin did as much as they could against Galway, winning by four points, but a draw in Innovate Wexford Park between Wexford and Kilkenny made it a rematch for the final. Galway are out while Carlow finished with 0 points from their four games. As always, you can follow all the action from both games with The Irish Mirror's live blog. Below is the fixtures and results from this year's Leinster Championship: Kilkenny 2-23 Dublin 1-21 7pm, 11/5 Nowlan Park Galway 1-24 Carlow 1-18 3pm, 12/5 Pearse Stadium Carlow 1-14 Kilkenny 3-22 3pm, 19/5 Dr Cullen Park Dublin 1-22 Wexford 2-19 3pm, 19/5 Parnell Park Galway 0-16 Wexford 0-16 4pm, 26/5 Pearse Stadium Carlow 1-13 Dublin 2-22 3pm, 2/6 Dr Cullen Park Wexford 2-28 Carlow 0-19 7pm, 8/6 Wexford Park Kilkenny 2-22 Galway 3-20 2pm, 9/6 Nowlan Park Wexford 0-21 Kilkenny 1-18 7pm, 15/6 Wexford Park Dublin 3-19 Galway 0-24 7pm, 15/6 Parnell Park FINAL: Wexford v Kilkenny 4pm, 30/6 TBC And here's the league table: Team P W D L F A Pts 1. Kilkenny 4 2 1 1 109 91 5 2. Wexford 4 1 3 0 96 81 5 3. Dublin 4 2 1 1 105 94 5 4. Galway 4 2 1 1 96 93 5 5. Carlow 4 0 0 4 73 120 0 If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.<doc-sep>
GALWAY will be without some key stars when they line out against Carlow on Saturday. The 2017 All-Ireland champions will be without Joe Canning for the guts of the championship after the star forward sustained a nasty injury against Waterford in their league campaign. 1 Carlow and Galway in action Here is everything you need to know ahead of the game. What time is throw in and where is it on? THE game takes place on Sunday, 12 May in Pearse Stadium, Galway. Throw in is at 3 pm. What TV Channel is it on and can I stream it? UNFORTUNATELY the game has not been selected for live TV coverage and is not available to be streamed. There will be full highlights on the Sunday Game which is on RTE Two on Sunday night at 9.30 pm. Team News GALWAY: Colm Callanan; Jack Grealish, Ronan Burke, Aidan Harte; Padraig Mannion, Gearoid McInerney, Kevin Hussey; David Burke, Cathal Mannion; Niall Burke, Jason Flynn, Brian Concannon; Conor Whelan, Conor Cooney, Davy Glennon CARLOW: Brian Tracey; Kevin McDonald, Paul Doyle, Michael Doyle; Eoin Nolan, David English, Richard Coady; Jack Kavanagh, Seán Whelan; John M Nolan, Martin Kavanagh, Edward Byrne; James Doyle, Séamus Murphy, Chris Nolan What are the betting odds. UNDERSTANDABLY Galway are heavy favourites for the clash. Micheal Donoghue's side are priced at a lopsided 1/200. Carlow are priced at 25/1 with a draw priced at 50/1. How did both teams fare when they last met? IN one of the huge surprised in the National League, Galway and Carlow drew when they met earlier in the year. MOST READ SPORT Live Blog MAN UTD 1 (10) VILLARREAL 1 (11) Penalties heartbreak for Red Devils as De Gea misses JEEPERS KEEPERS Agony for Man Utd as De Gea misses after epic shootout goes down to GOALIES Live Blog FOOTBALL NEWS LIVE Zidane QUITS Real Madrid, Antonio Conte leaves Inter Milan Live Blog RED DEVILS NEWS Europa League final build-up as Maguire NOT yet ruled out, Ronaldo LATEST ZINE ENOUGH Zidane 'quits Real Madrid with immediate effect' after troubled Bernabeu season FAKE PAUL Tommy Fury slams Jake Paul and claims Molly-Mae leaked DMs aren't real in rant Playing at the start of February, Carlow came from behind to draw 20 points a piece with Galway. Despite the draw, Carlow finished bottom of Division 1B failing to win a game. Galway still progressed in the league only to be undone by a red hot Waterford side in the semi-finals.