History in Kilkenny's favour as league champions come to town

Old rivals will meet on Sunday as Kilkenny and Cork collide in the ’Park for a crucial Division 1A hurling league clash at 3.15pm (live on TG4).

Cork go into the game on the back of an unblemished three from three tally and Ben O’Connor’s outfit will travel with huge confidence.

Kilkenny will also be buoyed by the fact that they battled to a late success over Waterford last weekend. While they will need to improve hugely to topple the Leesiders, their recent home record against the back to back All-Ireland finalists is definitely a huge positive.

While the teams have naturally changed over time, the Cats’ record of winning eight of the last nine meetings between the sides in UPMC Nowlan Park is definitely not to be sniffed at.

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The last clash between the teams in the Marble City was the 2023 league semi-final which saw Kilkenny emerge as 2-22 to 0-22 winners with Billy Drennan and Mossy Keoghan grabbing the goals in a six point success.

Kilkenny then followed that up with a 0-21 to 1-17 victory in Pairc Ui Chaoimh the following spring though the Rebels hit back with a 1-22 to 2-16 victory at the Cork city venue during last year’s league campaign.

Cork’s last win at the expense of the Cats in Nowlan Park arrived in a league relegation playoff back in 2019 ahead of a restructure the following season.

It’s a very different team in red that Kilkenny face into this weekend though and Derek Lyng knows the challenge that awaits them.

“Cork is a huge test but it’s a great game to get as they are a fantastic team and they are playing very well at the minute so we’ll find out a lot about our team as well,” he said.

“They are a team who have contested the last two All-Ireland finals so we’re looking forward to it.”

With over 20,000 in attendance at Cork’s most recent encounter against Tipperary in an All-Ireland Final rematch a couple of weeks ago, a large crowd is anticipated this weekend and while a huge visiting contingent is expected, the Kilkenny boss was happy with the home crowd last Sunday.

“We’d a big support today which is important as the Kilkenny supporters have seen some new faces and once they see the effort we are putting in they will be happy.”

The game itself has pretty big consequences as a Kilkenny defeat will heighten the pressure of avoiding relegation over the next two games as they end the league schedule with trips to Salthill and Thurles to face Galway and Tipperary but a win against the grain would then keep their league prospects very much alive.