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Take Colts to beat the Super Bowl spread in Super Bowl XLIV

By Bernie | February 1, 2010

The Indianapolis Colts should be bet on to beat the 5.5 point betting spread the bookies are giving them ahead of Super Bowl XLIV.

In a match between the best two teams in the NFL the Colts have everything they need to penetrate the New Orleans Saints’ defense – and a championship-winning quarterback.

This year’s Super Bowl is being billed, as the NFL showpiece so often is, as offence v defense, with the Colts and Peyton Manning expected to play the role of the swashbuckling irresistible force against the immovable object of the Saints’ defense.

That simplistic view of Sunday’s game may tempt you to bet on the Saints at odds of 37/20, available at Bet365 (and if you’re going to bet with Bet365, remember to take advantage of their £200 in free bets offer.

But it ignores the fact that the Colts can play defense too. They’ll give the Saints strong running game and another good quarterback in Drew Brees few chances to score.

Meanwhile, Manning will be given much more protection by his offensive line than Brett Favre and Kurt Warner got in the Saints’ playoff games.

However the biggest reason I can see for the Colts beating this year’s Super Bowl spread is that they’ve been there and done it before. In 2007 they beat the Chicago Bears by 12 points in the same Miami stadium.

That experience will count for a lot. The Super Bowl is no ordinary NFL game, and 99 per cent of the Saints staff, including all their key players, will be experiencing it for the first time.

Peyton Manning won MVP in the 2007 Super Bowl game, and is favourite to win again this year (10/11, again at Bet365).

But this year’s best Super Bowl bet has to be his Colts team to beat the 5.5 spread being offered by a host of bookies including Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, Paddy Power and Blue Square.

Odds of 10/11 are what bookies often offer on a 50/50 shot, and I make this a lot more likely than the outcome of a coin toss.

Of course, the more confident bettors will be buying Indianapolis supremacy at 6 points on Sporting Index, and if you fancy making (or losing) some real money that’s the way to go.

But for me eleven points on the Colts to beat the 5.5-point Super Bowl spread will do for starters.

Bet on the Super Bowl then watch it live on BBC1 from 11.00pm (UK time) on Sunday, 7 February.

Super Bowl betting tip