SUPER BOWL

THE early markets are up for Super Bowl LIV and, given how the competing teams are built, it is hard to see them shifting a great deal between now and kick-off on February 3.

The bookmakers are ever so marginally with the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and, if the markets are on the money, we are in for a classic end to the season.

Kansas City is a team built around one of the most potent offences in the game, with a quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who in two years as a starter has done things on the field which few have ever seen, such as look away passes and throws with his opposite arm.

San Francisco 49ers boast one of the best defensive fronts in the Super Bowl era.

A five-star, five-man pass rush which could make life very difficult for Mahomes and co.

It is strength versus strength. In saying that, the 49ers offense is no slouch. It ranks seventh on metrics, which take into account factors such as strength of opponents and weather conditions. The Chiefs rank third using those metrics, down slightly from their top billing in 2018.

The 49ers defence ranks second with Kansas City 14th but, when it comes to stopping the pass game, the Chiefs are sixth.

With this in mind, expect San Francisco to implement a similar game plan to what it did in the NFC Championship game, where the run game ran riot, blowing the Green Bay Packers away and sealing the result by half time with a 27-0 lead.

The Chiefs are a lot more talented than Green Bay and it is hard to see the Niners formerly stopgap running back, Raheem Mostert, having another career day in the Super Bowl.

There are strong arguments for and against backing either team, but if you’re tossing up whether to get on early or wait until closer, as stated earlier, it’s unlikely it will matter. This market has the potential to be as solid as you’ll see for a big game.