Nightmare draw for Westmeath as Rossies look set to face Dubs

Westmeath have been given an extremely tough draw in the new group stages of the All-Ireland SFC.

The historic draw was made a short time ago (Tuesday afternoon), with Dessie Dolan's side placed alongside the Connacht champions (who will almost certainly be Galway), the Ulster runners-up (Armagh or Derry) and Tyrone.

This means Westmeath are likely to be facing the 2022 All-Ireland finalists Galway, 2021 Sam Maguire Cup winners Tyrone and either Armagh or Derry.

The Ulster runners-up was the second seed Westmeath wanted to avoid. Also, Lake County supporters would have hoped to have been placed with the losing Connacht finalists (very likely to be Sligo - the county with the lowest league placing this year).

Westmeath will be away to a second seed (Armagh or Derry) in their opening group game on the weekend of May 20/21.

Meanwhile, Roscommon are set for a meeting with Dublin in their first round game on May 27/28 - unless Louth can pull off a sensational surprise in the Leinster final.

The Rossies will also face the Connacht runners-up and Kildare, which means Roscommon manager Davy Burke will be in opposition to his own county.

It's a group where Roscommon will fancy their chances of finishing in the top two.

The top teams in each of the four groups will qualify for the All-Ireland quarter-finals, while the second and third-placed sides will advance to preliminary quarter-finals.

All-Ireland SFC group stage draw

Group 1: Clare/Kerry winner, Dublin/Louth loser, Mayo, Cork.

Group 2: Galway/Sligo winner, Armagh/Derry loser, Tyrone, Westmeath.

Group 3: Dublin/Louth winner, Galway/Sligo loser, Roscommon, Kildare.

Group 4: Armagh/Derry winner, Clare/Kerry loser, Monaghan, Donegal.