NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — The New England Patriots are favoured by two touchdowns over the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, the fourth-highest opening point spread in the 42-year history of the National Football League's championship game.

The Patriots and Giants play February 3 in Glendale, Arizona, after winning conference championships two days ago.

New England has an 18-0 record, including a 38-35 win over the Giants to end the regular season, and outscored its opponents by an average of 18.6 points. The Giants are 13-6 and won their three playoff games on the road as underdogs.

"Once you realise that you are always the underdog, that mentality fits in with some of the things that we believe in from an inspirational standpoint," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said at a news conference. "We have something to prove every time that we play."

The biggest point spread for the Super Bowl was 18 points in 1969, when New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed a victory and then led his underdog team to a 16-7 upset over the Baltimore Colts in Miami.

In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers opened as 17 ½-point favourites over the San Diego Chargers, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants. The line moved to 18 points and the 49ers covered the spread with a 49-26 rout.

When the Patriots won the first of their three Super Bowl titles in 2002, they opened as 15 ½-point underdogs against the St. Louis Rams. The Patriots won 20-17 and then captured the NFL title again in 2004 and 2005.

"We're just trying to beat the Giants," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said at a news conference in Foxborough, Massachusetts. "That's all that matters. It's not what their record is or what our record is or what kind of car anybody is driving or anything else. It's about who plays better in two weeks and it's preparation for that game."

Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, the NFL's Most Valuable Player, was in New York yesterday wearing an orthopedic brace on his right foot, the New York Post reported. He told Boston radio station WEEI that he'd be ready to face the Giants, the newspaper said.

Ten other teams have been favoured by 10 or more points in the Super Bowl, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which advises Nevada sports books on betting lines. Last year's game drew $93 million in legal wagers in Nevada.

Coughlin and Giants quarterback Eli Manning said New York's run of postseason success was sparked by the December 29 loss to New England. Both teams played their starters at Giants Stadium even though they'd already clinched playoff berths and the game had no impact on the postseason matchups.

New York had a 12-point second-half lead before the Patriots rallied to become the first NFL team to complete the regular season with a 16-0 record. Manning threw four touchdown passes in the loss and hasn't had a turnover in the Giants' three play-off games since.

"We gave ourselves a shot to win, we fell short, but it got our confidence going," Manning said yesterday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. "It got us playing good football, it got us back in a rhythm and from then on we have been on a hot streak. Hopefully we can keep that going, but we know they are a good team and we know what it is going to take to beat them."