Fermanagh’s Ulster title bid will begin on Saturday evening when they take on reigning champions Derry in Brewster Park.

Rory Gallagher’s side will travel to Enniskillen as firm favourites to secure their place in the semi-final to play the winners of the Tyrone/ Monaghan clash which will be held on Sunday - although Gallagher will know that with this being Ulster, victory is never a given and will have to be earned.

With the new championship format coming into play, this is a must win for Fermanagh in terms of keeping alive their hopes of playing in the race for Sam Maguire this summer. Promotion to Division One has already guaranteed Derry’s place in the All Ireland series later this summer although they will be aiming for as high a seed as possible in that competition with provincial champions and runners up taking first and second seeds.

But for Fermanagh to join them they must reach the Ulster final. Defeat before that would leave Kieran Donnelly’s side playing in what looks to be a very competitive Tailteann Cup.

So, it adds an extra layer to what already promises to be an intriguing Ulster Championship.

Fermanagh will go into the tie as underdogs but, like Derry, they are coming into the championship on the back of a strong league campaign as they sealed promotion to Division Two.

Donnelly’s charges had been tipped for relegation in some quarters and that looked a possibility after losing their second outing to Offaly but they put a run of five straight wins together after that defeat to finish top of the table.

They produced some fine football during that run of victories over Down, Antrim, Tipperary, Westmeath and Cavan but also showed plenty of grit and resilience when required, especially against Down and Antrim.

Donnelly has pointed out that he believes a lot of the improvement this year is simply down to the younger players being a year older and wiser and they certainly have brought their game to the next level during the league. But there is also no doubt that the return of the Cullen twins, Che and Lee, has been crucial for Donnelly as they provide that physical presence and leadership that was maybe missing at times last year.

On top of that an injury free Ultan Kelm has made a big impact at the other end of the pitch where teams have struggled to deal with his pace and power while the addition of the likes of Conor McShea and Conor McGee has meant that Donnelly has a lot more strength and depth to his squad with the bench playing a key role in games.

Fermanagh will know though that Derry are going to be a step up on anything they have faced in the league this year. The Oak Leafs cruised through Division Two to secure promotion with a game to spare and although they lost to Dublin in the Division Two final, Gallagher will be able to point to the absence of two of his full back line for that game - Chrissy McKaigue and Eoin McEvoy - while he also lost Conor Glass to injury.

All three are expected to play on Sunday in what is a very settled Derry line up.

McKaigue and Conor McCluskey will likely take up the man marking jobs on Darragh McGurn and Kelm respectively and Derry will know that if they can tie down that pair then it will make life much tougher for Fermanagh.

Glass and Brendan Rodgers form a formidable midfield pairing while up front Shane McGuigan is a top quality attacker and along with the likes of Paul Cassidy and Niall Toner will be looked to for scores.

From a Fermanagh perspective, they have put up bigger scores during the league - averaging over 15 points a game - and have had a good spread of scorers in each game and that will have to continue albeit against a very strong Derry defensive unit that has conceded on average less than 11 points a game. McGurn, Kelm and Ryan Lyons will be key players in the Erne attack while the likes of Aidan Breen, Ryan Jones and Shane McGullion are also capable of landing scores. There is then Sean Quigley to figure in, whether that is from the start or coming off the bench.

At the other end of the pitch, Fermanagh will need to be fully focused as they look to cut out the Derry threat. Derry have averaged over 16 points a game whereas Fermanagh have conceded just under 14 points a game, and Donnelly will look to the Cullen twins, Johnny Cassidy and Luke Flanagan to keep things tight.

Certainly, Fermanagh will be hoping that home advantage plays a part as they return to Brewster Park for the first time this season and they will be hoping that a big home support gets right behind the team.

Derry though are favourites for a reason and they will be looking at retaining their Ulster title with Fermanagh a step in achieving that.

Fermanagh have shown good progression this year and they would want that to continue. It is going to take a huge display; they need to be on top of their game both in and out of possession while they will probably need Derry to be below par.

But, if Fermanagh can stay in the hunt and bring the game down to the last ten minutes, then they will feel that they have a chance of causing an upset.