Explainer: Here are the teams Donegal might face in the All-Ireland quarter-final

Following the draw for the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, the passage towards the latter stages of the race for Sam Maguire is beginning to click into place.

Monday morning’s draw for the preliminary quarter-finals will see these fixtures: 
Saturday June 22 – Galway v Monaghan, Pearse Stadium, 4pm, GAAGO; Tyrone v Roscommon, O’Neills Healy Park, 5pm, GAAGO; Mayo v Derry, Hastings Insurance MacHale Park, 6.30pm, GAAGO
Sunday June 23 – Louth v Cork, Grattan Park, Inniskeen, 3pm, GAAGO

The winners of these four ties will take on the seeded teams, who won their groups – Donegal, Armagh, Dublin and Kerry and therefore avoid the preliminaries – in the All-Ireland quarter-finals on the weekend of June 29/30 at Croke Park, with the draw taking place this coming Monday morning.

From the 11 other sides left, Donegal cannot play any of the other group winners in the All-Ireland quarter-finals, therefore ruling out Armagh, Dublin and Kerry. That leaves eight.

Sides who faced one another in provincial finals cannot meet, but that case is sidestepped in Donegal’s case, with Armagh a group winner too.

Nor can Donegal meet a side they played in the All-Ireland SFC group stage, so that rules out Cork or Tyrone, should either make it through. So we’re down to six.

Donegal can, though, meet a team they might’ve faced before the Ulster SFC final, namely Derry – but not Tyrone as they met again in the group stages.

Therefore, Donegal will play either the winners from Mayo and Derry; whoever comes out on top in the meeting of Galway and Monaghan; or Louth or Roscommon – should they overcome Cork and Tyrone respectively.

Armagh will not play group opponents Galway or Derry, should they make it through, leaving the possible opponents for Kieran McGeeney’s team, depending on progression, Mayo; Monaghan; Louth or Cork, Tyrone or Roscommon.

Dublin have played Louth in their provincial final and came across Mayo and Roscommon in the group stage, so cannot face any of them. So, that leaves their possibilities at Derry; Cork; Tyrone or the winner of Galway against Monaghan.

Kerry met Louth and Monaghan in the group stages, so the Munster champions are left with whoever wins Mayo’s clash with Derry; Cork; Tyrone or Roscommon; or Galway or Monaghan.