Westmeath prepare to face Antrim as London fixture is confirmed

Westmeath footballers will back in championship action next Sunday when they face Antrim in the opening round of the Tailteann Cup at TEG Cusack Park (2pm).

Antrim were defeated in the Ulster SFC by All-Ireland champions Armagh - having eventually been allowed to host the game at Corrigan Park - while Westmeath were edged out by Kildare in their Leinster quarter-final.

Meanwhile, the second round clash between Westmeath and London has been confirmed for Sunday week, May 18 at McGovern Park, Ruislip (throw-in 2pm) - see below for Tailteann Cup fixtures.

Limerick are the other team in Group 3, and Westmeath will meet the Treaty men at a neutral venue on Saturday, May 31 or Sunday June 1.

Three years on from their triumph in the inaugural staging of the Tailteann Cup, Westmeath are back in the second-tier championship and will be expected to compete strongly.

Westmeath will be firm favourites to emerge from their group, but it is worth remembering that the Lake County has lost several members of last year's team for various reasons. In addition, Dermot McCabe's charges are still chasing a first competitive win this season.

The competition offers a direct route into next year’s Sam Maguire Cup, which ensures that the Tailteann Cup will be a hotly contested championship in its own right.

The other first seeds in the Tailteann Cup are Kildare, Division 3 league champions Offaly and Fermanagh, who came very close to knocking out Down in the Ulster championship. Most pundits will expect the overall winners to come from this quartet, but other teams will obviously harbour their own ambitions of lifting silverware.

Tailteann Cup - Round 1 fixtures

Saturday, May 10

Group 1 - Cedral St Conleth's Park, 5pm, Kildare v Leitrim.

Group 2 - Glenisk O'Connor Park, 1.30pm, Offaly v Wicklow; Laois Hire O'Moore Park, 3pm, Laois v Waterford.

Group 3 - Rathkeale, 1pm, Limerick v London.

Group 4 - Chadwicks Wexford Park, 6.30pm, Wexford v Longford.

Sunday, May 11

Group 1 - Tubbercurry, 1.30pm, Sligo v Tipperary.

Group 3 - TEG Cusack Park, 2pm, Westmeath v Antrim.

Group 4 - Brewster Park, 2pm, Fermanagh v Carlow.

Tailteann Cup - Round 2 fixtures

Saturday, May 17

Group 1 - Clonmel (4pm) Tipperary v Kildare.

Group 2 - Walsh Park (1.30) Waterford v Offaly; Echelon Park, Aughrim (6pm) Wicklow v Laois.

Group 3 - Corrigan Park (4.30) Antrim v Limerick.

Sunday, May 18

Group 1 - Carrick-on-Shannon (1.30) Leitrim v Sligo.

Group 3 - Ruislip (2pm) London v Westmeath.

Group 4 - Netwatch Cullen Park (2.30) Carlow v Wexford; Glennon Brothers Pearse Park (3pm) Longford v Fermanagh.