Doyle conceded that losing to Clare in Round 1, albeit after a strong performance, has robbed Dublin of a 'safety net' of sorts in the promotion race. If they were to lose again, it would be asking a lot to lock down one of the two promotion spots at the end of the campaign. Wexford, meanwhile, have six points on the board and are keen to retain their winning habit with huge ties against Dublin and Clare still to come for them.
Throw in the fact that it's always a very close contest between Dublin and Wexford - just four points separated the teams when Dublin beat the Model County in last year's Leinster SHC - and you have the ingredients for a cracker.
"Any time you play them, when it's Dublin versus Wexford, it's going to be a close battle," said Doyle. "We've a history of those close games over the last number of years that I've been involved anyway. We're looking forward to it. They're always a tough side to come up against."
Doyle isn't as keen to delve into promotion talk. He's always been a game-by-game operator and anyway, when he glances at the table and sees Wexford and Clare leading at the top, and Dublin currently on two points, albeit with a game less played than the other two, it seems a little strange to be talking about going up.
"The reality is that we've only got two points on the board - Clare and Wexford have six points," stressed the 22-year-old. "We want to be playing Division 1A hurling next year. But I suppose there is a bit of a safety net gone there for this weekend (having already lost to Clare)."
One thing's for certain, Dublin won't lack confidence returning to Croke Park for the first time since last year's All-Ireland semi-final against Cork. That game ended in defeat to the Munster champions but, prior to that, Dublin scored a landmark win over Limerick.
It is put to Doyle that it must have brought great confidence, beating a Limerick side full of generational performers, though he doesn't fully agree.
"To be honest, I think we would have had that kind of self-belief prior to that win," he said. "I think in the dressing room, we believe in ourselves anyway. That win, more than anything, just showed other people what we're capable of. For ourselves, we don't ever compete to lose. We compete because we know we're good enough and everyone knows we're able to mix it with the top teams in the country. I think we just want to find that kind of consistency within the group."