1. Can Tipperary really get one over on Kerry?
Tipp haven’t beaten Kerry in senior championship football in 87 years but may never have a better chance.
The Kingdom have been rocked by injuries to Kieran O’Leary and Paul Murphy while manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice may see this one as a chance to experiment.
But Kerry surely won’t take Tipperary for granted as the Premier County emphatically disposed of Waterford in the quarter-finals.
With a host of Munster U21 winners in their ranks, Tipp are showing signs that recent underage success could transfer itself to the biggest stage of all.
They went desperately close to victory against Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last year and have finished in the last 12 of the All-Ireland series in two of the previous three seasons.
Tipp lost to Kerry by 17 points in Killarney two years ago but it’s unlikely that such a wide margin will exist again.
2. Can Cork recover from their Allianz League final mauling?
This Munster semi-final against Clare is a tricky assignment for Cork.
The Rebels may have home advantage but it’s likely that Clare would prefer to play them at Sunday’s venue Páirc Uí Rinn rather than Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Cork beat Clare in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 championships but the Banner men put it up to Kerry last year and avoided relegation from Division 3 of the Allianz League before kicking off their championship campaign with victory over Limerick.
The absence of cruciate ligament victim Podge Collins is a big blow to Clare’s hopes but Cork have an unsettled look about them right now.
Manager Brian Cuthbert will hope that his players have shrugged off their Allianz League final hangover, when they were mauled by Dublin, but he has made six changes from that game.
3. What kind of Kerry will we see on Sunday?
Despite well-documented injury problems, Kerry still have plenty of depth to call upon.
Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper is back in championship football for the first time in two years and his return will boost the Kingdom.
Kerry made hard work of it against Clare in last year’s Munster semi-final but turned up the heat to burn off Cork in the final.
As the season progressed, Eamonn Fitzmaurice settled on a winning formula that took all the way to the Hogan Stand podium in September.
Kerry will feel that they can do just about enough to see off Tipperary and build from there, with some big guns to return during the summer.
The ‘must not lose’ mantra will apply at Semple Stadium and Kerry won’t really care how they get the job done, as long as they do.
4. How wide is the margin between Cork and Kerry and the rest?
Not as wide as you would think. There was a time when the prospect of these two counties playing in a Munster final was a formality but Clare and Tipperary will feel that they can present stiff opposition.
It will take monumental efforts from both of the underdogs to pull off a shock but the aggregate winning margins in last year’s semi-finals was just five points.
Kerry beat Clare by four while Tipperary could and should have beaten Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, losing out in agonising fashion as Aidan Walsh turned up the heat late on to save the Rebels.
Tipperary beat Cork in this year’s Munster U21 final and the Premier County have scored other landmark victories over the big two at underage level in recent years.
Tradition still counts for something but Tipp, in particular, are targeting a major senior breakthrough sooner rather than later.
Clare will also feel that they can give a vulnerable Cork outfit a real run for their money.
5. Can Tipperary’s U21 stars step up to the mark?
The answer is already yes. Colin O’Riordan marked his debut season at intercounty level by being nominated for an Allstar award and Steven O’Brien is ready for his third season at top level, having made his debut against Galway in 2013.
O’Brien produced his most complete senior performance to date against Waterford in the Munster quarter-final, scoring six points from play, and has forged a formidable midfield partnership with George Hannigan.
O’Riordan has switched to wing-forward from midfield and his fitness will be monitored before throw-in against Kerry, after the JK Brackens colossus damaged his hip against Waterford.
Between the sticks, Evan Comerford is a ready-made replacement for Paul Fitzgerald while Ian Fahey, Jason Lonergan, Jimmy Feehan, Liam Casey and Kevin O’Halloran are other Munster U21 medallists who are key members of the senior set-up.
6. What kind of crowds will we have?
Difficult to know and the Munster Council have been reliant on money-spinning finals between Cork and Kerry to fill the coffers in recent years.
The presence of a few thousand Tipperary fans at Parnell Park for the All-Ireland U21 final suggests that a core group of fans could emerge if the senior team becomes successful.
Cork’s hurlers are traditionally better supported than the footballers and with Clare making the long trip to Leeside, only true Banner County die-hards will fancy the journey.
Kerry’s fans will believe they have bigger fish to fry than Tipperary and normally don’t turn out in droves until the Munster final and concluding stages of the All-Ireland series.
Over 9,000 spectators were present when Cork and Clare contested the 2012 Munster final but it’s highly unlikely that Sunday’s figure will be anywhere near that.
In Thurles, an attendance somewhere in the region of 6,000 is anticipated and any home support that the footballers can get in a hurling-mad county will greatly help their cause.
When Tipp last played Kerry in Thurles in 2012, over 22,000 fans flocked to Semple Stadium but the football tie was a curtain-raiser to the Tipp-Limerick hurling clash.
