The hearts saying one thing, but the head another.

People tell me that in a two horse race, I’m most likely to pick the second horse to come home. If this is the case, I’m going to say this early and get it out of the way, Tipperary are going to win this years Munster Senior Hurling final.

In the last decade and a half, Waterford and Tipperary have met in championship hurling on ten occasions and the record of both counties is five wins a piece, so which ever comes out on top this weekend for now will have some sort of bragging rights.

This time twelve months ago, the same two sides met at the same stage of the championship, and we don’t need any sort of reminding as to what happened on that occasion.

However, this time around, things are expected to be much closer. In a post match interview after Waterford’s win over Clare a month ago, team manager Michael Ryan told us that there would be no repeat of the 2011 final when he told us that there would be no hammering handed out this year.

The build up to this year’s final seems to be very low key, something that will possibly help Waterford. Other events such as the match venue, sweetener’s or lack of, depending on who is talking, failed concerts and the County Board’s financial problems are making all the headlines, both locally and nationally. While most would not wish for this to happen, there is one good thing about these headlines, its allowing the players build up for Sunday’s final almost un-noticed.

Like many others, even though I will not be travelling to the game, I am disappointed with the venue. Cork traditionally has been hard to get in and out of and let’s face it, the Stadium is a little out of date and you have wonder, how health and safety would allow the game to go ahead in such a venue.

It’s slightly amazing that the Munster Council have never done something to put this right. In Leinster and Ulster, for their big finals (football and hurling in Leinster, football in Ulster), Croke Park and Clones are used for their big finals each year regardless of who is in them. You can’t put wonder why the same cannot happen in Munster.

A Munster Final might not make the money it once did for the Munster Council. People quite rightly have complained about the pricing structures etc., but it’s possibly fair to say that people might make a little less noise if they were travelling to a venue that is relatively easy to get in and out of and where they can move around with some degree of comfort once inside.

Surely it would not be totally impossible for Munster Council chiefs and the six counties to come together and agree that all Munster Final’s regardless of who is in them would be played in Thurles. A agreement could be made whereby the participating counties would receive a portion of the overall gate receipts from all games played in the championship, the Tipperary County Board would get an agreed fee for the hire of the Stadium for the day, and that the Munster Council would look after all other things on the day, like agreeing who should provide different catering facilities inside the ground, the cost of putting a programme together and the sale of it etc.

For a number of the present panel to win a fifth Munster Senior Hurling Medal on Sunday is not going to be an easy task. In fact, they and their fellow team colleagues could have it all to do.

Last year, Tipperary well and truly beat Waterford, but there is no way that there is twenty-one points between the sides. This year expect thing to be much closer.

Tipperary are without doubt the second best team in the country in the past five years or so, and will go into Sunday’s final as favourites and rightly so.

Last time out, while it could be argued to be a degree of luck attached to it, they beat a fancied Cork side and did so without Eoin Kelly, Seamus Callanan, James Woodlock and more importantly Lar Corbett starting the game. In doing this they showed what strength they have in their panel. These are players with Munster and All-Ireland winner’s medals and you have to ask, why other county could leave players like this start a game sitting in the stand.

The two sides have met in the last of the four championship seasons, and the win ratio from these games is 3-1 to Tipperary. Waterford’s last win came in 2008 in the All-Ireland semi finals, while Tipperary have won the last three games, hitting fourteen goals against Waterford in the process, while Waterford have hit on average one in the three games.

This is something that is bound to be of some concern to Waterford heading into the game. We cannot leave the Tipperary players too many chances to shoot at our goal as if they will, the chances are going on previous games we will be punished.

Tipperary have named their starting team early this week, and have included Lar Corbett for his first start in a Tipperary Shirt for the first time this year. While the 15 named as likely to start, its fair to say that there could possibly be some tweaking made to the team, especially in the forward line.

Waterford are expected to name their starting team later this evening and it will show changes to the team which started against Clare. Aidan Kearney is a definite non starter and his place could well go to Noel Connors who replaced the Tallow man at half time against Clare.

It is possible that there could well be at least one if not two further changes to the starting team for this weekend. Richie Foley, the last day out did not have the best of games. To his credit however, he is only coming back after a long lay off and could have further worked on his fitness. If he does miss out, there are a number of players that could take his place. Players like Tony Browne, Darragh Fives and even Philip Mahony who played in the middle of the field last time out could well take ownership of the number five shirt for this game.

If the Abbeyside man does miss out and Michael Ryan and his selectors were to opt to move Philip Mahony into the half back line where he possibly would be more comfortable, it would mean that a place would become free in the middle of the field and if this was to happen, it could well lie to between Jamie Nagle or Dean Twomey, two players who are playing well this year to fill the void.

Up front, its likely that the management will give a vote of confidence to the sextet that started against Clare. There has been suggestions that Eoin Kelly could miss out after a disappointing day against Clare, but in the Club Championship this year he is in fine form and if he was to transfer this to the inter county scene, then it could be a massive boost to Waterford.

If the Passage man was to miss out, many would expect Martin O’Neill or Thomas Ryan would come in to replace him, but in recent days, it has come to light that Pauric Mahony is back after a recent injury. There is no doubt that he has retained his fitness while he was out, the only concern might be his sharpness.

There is nothing more I would love to see on Sunday is for Michael Walsh to lift the Munster Cup for the second time in his career. I have already said, a little tongue in cheek it must be pointed out that Tipperary is going to win.

As much as I would love to see Waterford win, I like many others can’t see it happening, but we can live in hope