Image source, Andrew Dicks / BBC

Christian McCaffrey has played six play-off games in his career - he's scored a touchdown in every single one, and had 100 total yards in five of them!

He's almost guaranteed a big game tonight, but will he score another TD? Let us know using your thumbs...

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Cleveland Browns linebacker: "Defences matter. Defences win championships. Whoever has the best defence on the night, that's the team that's going to come out on top."

Michael Vick, former Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback: "Obviously Mahomes is a difference-maker - I think he can take the game over at any minute but we have to be wary of what the 49ers defence can do. They have Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, who can make the game harder than what it's supposed to be. [Chiefs coach] Andy Reid will try to combat that. The best team will win - and the best teams meet on Sunday."

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Boba Fett at Allegiant Stadium?

Seems fitting that a Star Wars character would show up at a venue ominously nicknamed The Death Star.

Will Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey et al be feeling the force when we get under way?

Current New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu was playing for the Chiefs when they beat the 49ers in the Super Bowl four years ago.

And 'the Honey Badger' was among the NFL players who chatted about the big game with our very own Nesta McGregor this week.

"I won the Super Bowl ring with Kansas City and it's hard for me to bet against Patrick Mahomes," he said. "As long as he's playing, as long as he's healthy, he's tough to stop."

Ben Collins
BBC Sport

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The designated home team for the Super Bowl alternates between the AFC and NFC champions each year, and that team gets to wear their home jersey and use the host team's practice facility.

This year the Chiefs have the honour so will play in red today and this week they trained at the Las Vegas Raiders' base in Henderson, the suburb which Raiders player Jermaine Eluemunor calls home.

Asked how Vegas has been this week, he said: "Pretty hectic. There's been a lot of people, a lot of celebrities - it's been dope, for sure."

Normally the Super Bowl takes over the host city but asked how this week compared to a normal week in Vegas, Jermaine added: "It's maybe 2% crazier, but Vegas is a pretty crazy city.

"We live in Henderson so we don't have to deal with all the craziness that Vegas brings, day to day. But whenever you want a taste of the craziness we can easily drive 15 minutes to the Strip and you're good to go!"

As for the atmosphere at Allegiant Stadium, he said it's "pretty freaking hectic!!"

Jermaine Eluemunor
Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman

The 49ers have to control the line of scrimmage. They have to let Christian McCaffrey get out of the space and get the ball to their playmakers, like George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. Then Brock Purdy and McCaffrey can run the offence and really get going.

Trent Williams is going to do his job because he's the best in the league but I think the other guys in the offensive line have to really come through.

We speak to Patrick Mahomes' mum Randi about her superstar quarterback son.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes could win his third Super Bowl today at the age of just 28.

There's already talk of him being the future GOAT, but can he chase down Tom Brady's record of seven Super Bowl wins?

Read why victory in Vegas would nudge him a step closer, and why in some areas he's already ahead of schedule.

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Jermaine Eluemunor
Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman

The Chiefs have so much continuity on their defence, they're used to playing alongside each other. Chris Jones has been the key to that defence for a number of seasons and they have a bunch of role players that excel in the role that they're given.

I wouldn't say that the offence is just about Pat Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In the AFC Championship game, Marquez Valdes-Scantling damn near won the game for them with that big catch at the end.

Travis Kelce is a heck of a player but Pat Mahomes will find anyone he has to in order to win the game, so I wouldn't be surprised if a guy we've not really heard about wins the game for them.

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The 'Taylor Swift effect'... we've heard plenty about it over the last few weeks, months even.

Her new link to American football has swelled TV audiences, especially among young women, and has reportedly boosted the brand value of the NFL and the Chiefs by $331m (£260m).

She's even had an impact on the field too. While Travis Kelce has a lower touchdown rate in the 12 Kansas City games that Swift has attended this season, other key stats suggest that Kelce - and the Chiefs - play better when his famous girlfriend is in the crowd.

When George Kittle and Travis Kelce hang up their helmets for the last time, they will go down as probably the best tight ends to have played the game.

Kittle had marginally more receiving yards in the regular season (1,020 to 984) but yet again Kelce has hit top form when it matters most - in the play-offs.

Kittle scored a touchdown in the 49ers' comeback win against the Packers, while Kelce has scored three touchdowns in the Chiefs' last two play-off games. He always seems to be there when Patrick Mahomes needs him most.

But who is your favourite? Thumbs up for Kelce, down for Kittle.

Image source, BBC Sport/PA Images

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It's clear who Ant-Man himself Paul Rudd is backing this evening.

See what Travis Kelce had to say about the legion of new fans he's been bringing on board to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ben Collins
BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

This week I spoke with Jermaine Eluemunor, who was born in London and moved to the United States aged 14 before being drafted by Baltimore in 2017. The offensive lineman, 29, played with Tom Brady at New England and has just completed his third season with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Asked what the 49ers need to do to contain Patrick Mahomes, he said: "Shoot... hit him!! You can't let that man stand in the pocket all day and just freaking throw the ball downfield. You've got to hit him and let him know you're going to be there.

"When we played them this season at Christmas (Raiders won 20-14), our defence did a really good of getting to him and making him uncomfortable. You have to do that because if he gets comfortable in the slightest, he's going to rip you apart."

Image source, BBC Sport

This week San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan hit back at those who continue to call Brock Purdy merely a 'game manager' or 'system quarterback', and dismiss him because he's not a game-changing superstar like Patrick Mahomes.

"I don't get how being a system quarterback or a game manager is a negative," said Shanahan. "Like, the job of a quarterback is to manage the game and to run the system."

And Purdy has been doing a very good job of that - just look at his career passer rating. The passer rating system is a metric used to evaluate the performance of NFL quarterbacks, using five variables: pass attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdown passes and interceptions.

As it's still early in Purdy's career, he's yet to feature on the all-time list (he's about halfway to the 1,500 attempts required). But if he carries on at this rate he'll be well clear with the best ever rating.

Image source, BBC Sport/Reuters

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson may have been named this season's MVP but Brock Purdy led the league in some key categories this season.

The 24-year-old had a higher passer rating and more yards per attempt than any other regular starter. He also set a franchise record for passing yards. That's right, more than even Joe Montana or Steve Young managed in San Francisco's five Super Bowl-winning seasons.

Purdy's passer rating for the season was also 10th on the all-time list, just ahead of the best recorded by Montana and Young. Not bad for someone who, just two years ago, was left on the board till the very last pick of the draft.

Image source, BBC Sport/Reuters

Immediately after the Chiefs won their second Super Bowl in four years last February, Travis Kelce was asked if it was a dynasty.

"It solidifies your greatness," he replied. "You didn't get lucky once, it wasn't beginners' luck.

"You can call it a dynasty - you can call it whatever you want. All I know is we're coming back next year and our heart and mindset is on trying to get another."

You can't fault Kelce's confidence. And the Chiefs have backed it up as they're back in the big game for a fourth time in five years.

Image source, BBC Sport/Reuters

How do you define a dynasty? How many Super Bowls do you need to reach? And most importantly, how many do you need to win?

Speaking after the Chiefs won their second NFL title in four years last February, Patrick Mahomes said: "I am not going to say [it's] a dynasty yet, we are not done."

Once he had time to reflect on that success, he added in the off-season that "you've got to win three" to be considered a dynasty.

Hit thumbs up if you think the Chiefs need to win another, or thumbs down if you think they're already a dynasty.

In case you're here to learn about the football - and not just for Taylor - it's going to be a fascinating evening.

The Kansas City Chiefs are in their fourth Super Bowl in five years - a run that began with victory over tonight's opponents San Francisco 49ers in February 2020.

The Niners have lost their past two appearances in this game, then and in 2013, but have won the Super Bowl five times. They had the better season record (12-5 to 11-6) - but that goes out of the window here.

Everything you need to know about tonight's showpiece

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

OK, so we ought to talk about Taylor Swift.

Last night she was performing in Tokyo to 55,000 fans. But stories of her Super Bowl travel plans have arguably outshone the actual football ever since the Kaiser City Chiefs made it through to the Super Bowl final two weeks ago.

If you’re wondering why, where have you been?

Back in September, whispers of a romance with Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce were proved correct when she attended her first NFL game. She’s been virtually ever-present since.

Given she has made it to Vegas, she'll be watching her 13th game since they got together.

Unlucky for some?