The destination of the Anglo Celt Cup will be known later on Sunday evening, but the managers of Derry and Donegal will have been plotting the downfall of their opponents since the provincial semi-finals.
Declan Bonner was Donegal boss when they lost to Derry in 1998 - the last time the Oak Leaf County won the Ulster title.
Rory Gallagher was Donegal's assistant boss when they won the All-Ireland in 2012 and succeeded Jim McGuinness to the main role himself.
It was Bonner who then took over from Gallagher so there is history with the managers as well as the teams. Donegal edged Derry in a knock-out Ulster SFC game in Ballybofey last summer, 0-16 to 0-15.
Another close contest is in store on Sunday and we take a look at the all-important key battles ahead of the Ulster Final in Clones.
Probable line-outs
Derry:
1. Odhran Lynch
2. Chrissy McKaigue 3. Brendan Rogers 4. Conor McCluskey
5. Conor Doherty 6. Gareth McKinless 7. Padraig McGrogan
8. Conor Glass 9. Niall Toner
10. Paul Cassidy 11. Shea Downey 12. Ethan Doherty
13. Benny Heron 14. Shane McGuigan 15. Niall Loughlin
Donegal:
1. Shaun Patton
2. Caolan Ward 3. Brendan McCole 4. Stephen McMenamin
5. Ryan McHugh 6. Eoghan Ban Gallagher 7. Peader Mogan
8. Hugh McFadden 9. Jason McGee
10. Ciaran Thompson 11. Shane O’Donnell 12. Michael Langan
13. Paddy McBrearty 14. Michael Murphy 15. Jamie Brennan
Key battles
Chrissy McKaigue (Derry) vs Paddy McBrearty (Donegal)
It seems highly likely that Donegal’s in-form attacker will get the McKaigue treatment on Sunday.
Chrissy McKaigue is as tight a man-marker as they come. Darren McCurry’s two points from play in Omagh had to be exceptional as he was barely given an inch by the Slaughtneil ace.
Jack McCarron had an equally-tough day at the office in the Athletic Grounds, although McKaigue did concede a few frees. McBrearty doesn’t need acres of space to do damage and this battle will be fascinating to watch.
Brendan Rogers (Derry) vs Michael Murphy (Donegal)
Some match-ups are difficult to predict, but it would be a massive surprise if Brendan Rogers doesn’t mark Michael Murphy on Sunday.
Rogers has picked up Cathal McShane and Gary Mohan so far in the Ulster Championship so the physical tussle with the Donegal skipper shouldn’t faze him.
Murphy’s tendency to drift deep will suit the Slaughtneil clubman, but against Cavan Murphy also caused havoc when operating at full-forward. Limiting his influence has to be Derry’s top priority for Sunday.
Conor Glass (Derry) vs Hugh McFadden (Donegal)
A lot of players wearing the eight and nine jerseys in the modern game are so-called middle eight players.
Conor Glass is very much a traditional type of midfielder, someone whose main goal is to win primary possession for their team.
In that respect, he’ll have the ideal sparring partner this weekend as Hugh McFadden is a no-nonsense old-school midfielder.
McFadden did ship a bang to the head against Cavan, but Declan Bonner has stated that the Killybegs native will be fine for the Ulster decider.
Eoghan Ban Gallagher (Donegal) vs Shane McGuigan (Derry)
Plenty expect Rory Gallagher to throw a curveball in terms of the match-ups for Sunday, but Declan Bonner and Stephen Rochford have a few aces up their sleeves as well.
Caolan Ward, Brendan McCole and Stephen McMenamin are all solid defenders, but Eoghan Ban Gallagher might be asked to curb his attacking instincts and pick up Derry’s most dangerous attacker.
Gallagher likes to attack from deep, but he stepped up to the mark to shut down the threat of Cavan’s Paddy Lynch in the Ulster semi-final.
McGuigan has posted 1-11 so far in the Championship and keeping him quiet won’t be an easy task.
Brendan McCole vs Benny Heron
Benny Heron landed two points from play against Tyrone. Against Monaghan, he scored two goals from open play.
Donegal can’t afford to give the Ballinascreen ace any room to manoeuvre in St Tiernach’s Park.
While McGuigan will drift further out the pitch, Heron will be stationed closer to goals and is likely to be tracked by Brendan McCole.
The Donegal full-back was man-of-the-match as he held Armagh’s Rian O’Neill scoreless in Ballybofey.
However, he struggled against Paddy Lynch in the provincial semi-final and will need to bounce back to form on Sunday if Donegal are to prevail.
