A place in the Super Bowl is on the line and New England (6/5 Super Bowl winner), who have appeared in five of the last 11, are the bookmakers’ favourites to book their place in the NFL’s end-of-season showpiece event – and it is not hard to see why. The Tom Brady-led offense has been red-hot this season, averaging almost 33 points per game after 17 outings, and Rob Gronkowski has emerged as Brady’s go-to-guy with 18 touchdowns in a breakout year.

But if there is a defence in football that could stop the Patriots’ number-two ranked offence it is the Ravens (11/2 Super Bowl winner). Baltimore have become synonymous with good defence and it was no surprise when they ranked third in overall defence this season; second against the rush and fourth against the pass. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed may be ‘getting up there’ in age, but these two men can still compete with the best and lead a defensive line-up that is loaded with talent. If the Ravens can stop New England’s running game and force Brady to go to the air, that would play into the hands of notorious ball-hawker Reed and cornerback Ladarius Webb, who have combined for eight interceptions so far this season. 

New England Patriots are 20/29 favourites to win this but Baltimore, at 13/5, can pull off an upset here. There is an old saying in this game that defence wins championships and this match could well be a prime example. The Ravens defence has the talent to shut down, or at least slow down, the Patriots’ offence, while New England’s 31st-ranked defence – the second-worst in the league – are always going to leak yardage and points. It is up to Joe Flacco and Co to capitalise.

Baltimore will give New England a heavy dose of Ray Rice to keep the pressure off Flacco as much as possible, and the running back has ran in team-leading 15 touchdowns this season. Rice is 4/1 to get the first one here, while fellow back Ricky Williams is 33/1. When the Ravens turn to the passing game, Flacco’s main targets will by Torrey Smith, Ed Dickson and Anquan Boldin, and they are 14/1, 18/1 and 12/1 respectively in this market.

New England quarterback Brady has ‘spread the love’ this season with no less than six players reaching multiple figures in the touchdown stats. Gronkowski is the leading man and he is 4/1 to score the first TD in this game, with fellow tight Aaron Hernandez 10/1 to add to his seven by going in first. Wes Welker is an obvious target for Brady and can be backed at 7/1 in this market, while 11-TD running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis is 7/1.

If the AFC Championship game goes to overtime, Ladbrokes will refund all losing single bets up to £100 on the touchdown scorer markets. And it is also worth noting that the firm are offering enhanced odds on marquee markets of live TV NFL games all season long. This covers Money Line, Point Spread, Total Points, 1st Half Point Spread and 1st Half Totals.