There’s no polite way of putting this, but it is very hard to trust Dublin in a match like Sunday’s when they’re coming off a promising performance and, playing at home, all logic points to them winning.Only last year, I saw plenty to like in their performance against Kilkenny in Nowlan Park even though they conceded awful goals and lost the match as a result. But they had been absolutely able for them in every other respect.So, in their next match in Parnell Park, I fully expected them to beat a Galway team, obviously in decline. That’s not the way it turned out.Then, it was impossible to imagine they’d land a punch on Limerick in the All-Ireland quarter-final but reduced to 14, they beat them. They weren’t going to beat Cork in the semi-final but they’d surely put it up to them? No.On form, Dublin can be encouraged this weekend. They and Kilkenny both drew with Offaly but Galway whipped Kilkenny (for the second time in a few weeks), yet never looked like doing the same to Dublin.A win in Galway is a good result but when you break it down, it was a late five-minute burst with the wind behind them and it came with reservations.You would have to say at this stage Galway haven’t looked the potentially high-challenging team they appeared to be against Kilkenny and the large wides total they shot last week basically kept Dublin in the game.It was a bit one-dimensional, going long to John Hetherton and Ronan Hayes, but that was where they really made the difference.They are however, much more solid at the back than they were last year. I think the recall of Liam Rushe has made a big difference. He’s experienced and physically powerful and, like John Conlon in Clare, brings composure to the defence. Eoghan O’Donnell is also back involved, which is further consolidation.Nothing Kilkenny have done this season has been impressive. Everything has looked a bit of a struggle. The hammerings by Galway look even worse at this point and the rebound draw with Tipperary in the league hasn’t aged well, either.Nicky English says nothing Kilkenny have done this season has been impressive. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho [ Fortress Parnell Park? Dublin’s record against Kilkenny says otherwiseOpens in new window ]Billy Ryan and Huw Lawlor are travelling. It’s asking a lot of TJ Reid at this stage to carry the attack where John Donnelly has missed a fair bit between suspension and injury and Adrian Mullen has been very unfortunate with injuries. Jordan Molloy, a fixture at midfield, is gone for the rest of the year with an ACL rupture.Mullen and Harry Shine, who is a good hurler, are back and those are positives for Kilkenny.Lawlor is obviously a big absence given Dublin’s route one capabilities. Mikey Carey isn’t a full-back and tends to be most noticeable when getting forward. He had a good match on Lee Chin against Wexford but although a big man under dropping ball, Chin isn’t an out-and-out old style full forward and likes to move around, which Carey was comfortable covering.So, if anything, Kilkenny are disimproved from last year when they were unfortunate to lose to 14-man Tipp in the All-Ireland semi-final, although like the previous year against Clare, they were complicit in their own defeat. They do have the significant advantage of an impeccable record in Parnell Park. I continue to question the value of the venue to Dublin’s hurlers, who have advantages of athleticism and pace in the middle third which aren’t suited by the tight pitch.On the other hand, Kilkenny’s traditional close control is always an asset there on the tight pitch, where they have never lost a championship match against Dublin. Regardless of other issues, I think they’ll leave Donnycarney with that record intact.In Cork, later in the afternoon, there is effectively a Munster semi-final and it will be very interesting to see what teams take the field.Ben O’Connor has been handling a slow drip of injury issues since he lost Ciarán Joyce for the season. Darragh Fitzgibbon is out with appendicitis – beyond the full-forward line, they are two of Cork’s three most important Cork players. They were followed by Robbie O’Flynn, who is a decent sub off the bench.On the plus side, the third of those essential players, Rob Downey returns quicker than expected and is selected.Clare's John Conlon and David McInerney with John McGrath of Tipperary. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho Brian Lohan has his own issues after his team responded so well to their desperate performance against Limerick. Mark Rodgers and Ryan Taylor – who was back to his pacy, high-mileage best – left the big win over Tipperary early with injuries. Both miss this weekend.I suspect that a team is better off finishing third in the province, especially now that the preliminary quarter-finals have been abolished. There is big excitement at Munster finals but do Cork look back fondly on 12 months ago as the year they regained the provincial championship?Clare gave a dominant display in effectively ending Tipperary’s All-Ireland reign but this will tell us a bit more about them. Cork have one thing Tipp don’t: pace. They were better set up in Thurles but Cork will run at them, which is different to Tipp, who hurled more and looked to put the ball into John McGrath. If John Conlon can be as influential in this contest as he was against Tipperary, then I have no doubt that Clare would win but I think they’ll be under more pressure on Sunday.[ If Kilkenny get into a Leinster final, would you bet against them?Opens in new window ]