'Where the All-Ireland final will be won and lost'

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final - Armagh v Galway

Date: Sunday, 28 July Venue: Croke Park, Dublin Throw-in: 15:30 BST

Coverage: Watch on BBC iPlayer, BBC Two NI, BBC Sport website & app; listen on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Ulster; live text updates, radio, report, reaction & highlights on BBC Sport website & app

This year's football championship hasn't always gotten pulses racing, but in Armagh and Galway it has produced an entirely new All-Ireland final pairing between two evenly matched teams whose supporters crave the return of Sam Maguire to their county.

Up until 2001, Armagh and Galway had never met in the championship, but it has been fascinating to watch their rivalry develop over the past three seasons.

Most people's point of reference, of course, is the epic quarter-final battle of 2022 when Galway prevailed on penalties after 90 minutes of breathless action at Croke Park.

While I'd love to see another you-score-we-score rollercoaster like we had that day in Croke Park, Sunday's final will more likely bear all the traits of the modern-game: blanket defences, a mix of pressing and dropping off kick-outs and the methodical breaking down of mass defences.

That's not to say it won't be gripping. Armagh and Galway's last three championship meetings have produced a penalty shootout win, a one-point win for Armagh and a draw, and on Sunday, these two are likely to have us guessing right down to the final kick of the championship.

In terms of match-ups, we're probably looking at the following:

While match-ups are always key, both sides will be using a lot of preparation time to fine-tune a system that has worked for them all year.

Galway's injury troubles have been well-documented, but even with that, they have rarely strayed from the brand of football we've come to expect from them.

Their half-back line of Dylan McHugh, Liam Silke and Sean Mulkerrin have been monumental all season and key to the zonal defensive structure we're sure to see from them on Sunday.

Galway's half-backs have become masters of clogging up the D, restricting teams to low-percentage shots from distance. It has been one of the more subtle foundations of their success. Look at the semi-final - Donegal's shotmap was full of long-range efforts. Some of them produced scores, but their reliance on them ultimately contributed to their downfall.

Galway have evolved, too. In the past, they maybe built their team around Shane Walsh and Damien Comer. They are still undoubtedly the X-factor players in their panel, but now their style is epitomised by the hard-running, intelligent games of Dylan McHugh, Liam Silke and John Maher.

The Corofin duo of McHugh and Silke remind me of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in that they can do a bit of everything. They can mark, sweep, tackle, create and score. They are a joy to watch and play a huge role in making Galway tick.

McHugh, in particular, was already having a great season, but his performances in the quarter and semi-final wins over Dublin and Donegal have thrust him firmly into the player of the year conversation.

With that in mind, Armagh may stretch their man markers out to pick him up. Oisin Conaty has shown in the past that he can do that. He man-marked Donegal's Ryan McHugh in the Ulster final so he could be the one to push on to Dylan McHugh.

Not that any of Galway's strengths will faze Armagh. Their journey has been inspiring and they have built up serious momentum since that Ulster final loss.

Their ability to get over painful defeats and setbacks has been really impressive.

Going back to the group stage, I was certain they would struggle to cope with Ciaran Mackin's absence through injury. He has been a pivotal part of their defensive structure but Tiernan Kelly has slotted in seamlessly.

Blaine Hughes has been excellent too, so much so that Ethan Rafferty - who before his injury was the best sweeper-keeper in the country - hasn't been able to win his place back.

Hughes has all the kick-out tools and he keeps his run-ups short to keep the opposition guessing. With just two or three steps in his run-up, the opposition's pressing players are always guessing.

Armagh draw so much from their spiritual leaders, too. Aidan Forker is their captain and longest-serving player while Rory Grugan is a hugely effective creative presence.

Looking at Grugan, 14 points from play in eight championship games for the team's left-footed free taker isn't a huge return, but his assists and how he sets the tempo are pivotal to how Armagh play. If McHugh and Silke are like Kroos and Modric, Grugan is Armagh's very own Andres Iniesta: the thinking man's footballer, always probing and plotting, always thinking a few moves ahead.

Grugan's intelligence is symptomatic of Armagh, who have developed some clever attacking set-pieces, one of which sees them bunch in the middle of the D and leave space on the wings for Andrew Murnin.

Much has been made of Galway's options on the bench, but the quality Kieran McGeeney is able to keep is reserve should not go unnoticed either. I've counted 1-23 from the bench, which is a huge return.

Think about Jason Duffy's winner against Down in the Ulster semi-final, think of Stefan Campbell who always inject pace and forward-thinking when comes on, think of Jarly Og Burns and Ross McQuillan. That's a serious line-up of quality to bring on.

It will be interesting to see Armagh's approach to the Galway kick-out, too. In the semi-final against Kerry, they pressed a number of Shane Ryan's kick-outs and that yielded 1-1.

Connor Gleeson tends to go long for the vast majority of his kick-outs. He certainly did against Donegal and had huge success, but with players like Rian O'Neill, Ben Crealey and Niall Grimley there to field the ball, Armagh will surely relish Galway's kick-out as a key way of gaining primary possession.

Don't be surprised if Armagh identify this area and really look to hammer it.

Twelve months ago, I managed to correctly predict that Dublin would beat Kerry by two points in the All-Ireland final. This time around I’m still equally as indecisive with my prediction.

I have gravitated towards both Armagh and Galway for different reasons. Armagh have been hardened by the highs and lows of their journey and will be given that extra lift by the thousands who will travel south to Croke Park on Sunday.

It's been 21 years since they were in an All-Ireland final and they won't be easily beaten, but the closer we get to the final, I'm putting more and more value in Galway.

This group has been here before, two years ago. They have the experience and they have the system to win this game. Even with question marks over the fitness of Sean Kelly, Damien Comer and Shane Walsh, the form of their other big-game players has been simply phenomenal.

Prediction: Galway by a point

Michael Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport NI's Matt Gault