THE ANTHEM

National anthem length: Under 124.5 seconds –

Only two of the last eight anthem performances have gone over 124.5 seconds, with country singer Luke Bryan clocking in at fractionally over two minutes last year.

The average time over the past decade is 121 seconds, and that has been bloated by over-indulgent performances of over 140 seconds by both Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga.

This year’s performer Pink is not much of a warbler, and she should get the job done in timely fashion on Sunday night.

Colour of Pink’s hair for anthem performance: Blonde –

Pink went blonde at the Grammys last weekend, and that probably won’t change for her next high-profile performance.

The Get The Party Started hitmaker hasn’t regularly sported a pink ‘do for years, and should stick with understated platinum at the Super Bowl, given that she’s not the main attraction.

Pink to forget the words –

Christina Aguilera infamously fluffed her lines at Super Bowl XLV in 2011, mixing up two verses of the Star-Spangled Banner and sparking outrage across America.

The Super Bowl is the kind of high-pressure event that can cause these mishaps, and, while we’d never hope for Pink to fail, a national anthem blooper is fun to root for.

THE HALF-TIME SHOW

First song of the half-time show: SexyBack –

We dropped the ball on this with Lady Gaga last year, failing to spot the first-verse Texas reference that made Poker Face a perfect opener in Houston.

Unfortunately, Justin Timberlake hasn’t released any Minnesota-related tracks to give us any clues this time around.

Half-time performers tend to start the show with their most iconic song, like I Gotta Feeling from The Black Eyed Peas in 2011 and Viva La Vida from Coldplay in 2016.

SexyBack fits the bill.

To make a guest appearance: Janet Jackson –

For JT and Janet, Sunday night is the perfect opportunity to reunite and put the infamous wardrobe malfunction of Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 behind them. It’d be iconic.

Number of costume changes: Under 1.5 –

Of the last five half-time show performers, three made no mid-show costume changes at all.

Timberlake doesn’t seem the type to go through an entire wardrobe on stage, and the removal of a flannel shirt or woolly hat is probably as much action as we’re going to get.

THE GAME

Number of in-game Donald Trump tweets: Over 2.5 –

The President has held a grudge against the NFL ever since his failed attempt to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014, and he tweeted about the league 22 times since the season started in September.

Trump never misses an opportunity to push his agenda on Twitter, and is likely to go on a rant knowing that all of America will be following his feed during the game.

Colour of celebratory Gatorade shower: Orange –

There’s a good chance that this American sporting tradition won’t even happen this year, as the Patriots tend to be too frightened of coach Bill Belichick to drench him with a vat of energy drink at the end of a victory.

There was no shower when New England won last year, and they’ve passed up the opportunity in three of their five Super Bowl triumphs under the curmudgeonly coach.

If the Eagles win, however, or the Patriots choose to give Belichick a soaking, orange Gatorade is a good bet.

It’s been the colour of choice in four of the last eight years.

First thanked in Super Bowl MVP winner’s speech: Team-mates –

Four of the last seven MVP winners have given the first shout-out to their team-mates, and that trend will probably continue this weekend.

Tom Brady is the current favourite for the award, and he credited his fellow Patriots first when they won Super Bowl XLIX in 2014.

Sorry, God.