It was 2008. Lambeau Field. NFC Championship game. Giants won 23-20 in overtime.

Those are the bare facts of the last time that the Packers played at home in the post-season. Since then they have been exclusively on the road in the playoffs, culminating in last year's Super Bowl win. The Giants, after their mid-season slump, look to be peaking at the right time and seem confident of repeating their 2008 victory. Despite their good form, this will be no easy task for the Big Blue as on this occasion they are walking into Lambeau Field to play defending Super Bowl champions that went 15-1 in the regular season.

Since that 2008 contest the sides have met twice, with Green Bay winning on both occasions, 45-17 in December 2010 and 38-35 a few short weeks ago in the Big Apple when Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers shredded the porous Giants secondary for 369 yards and four touchdowns. It's arguable that since then the Giants defence, which only ranked 28th during the regular season, has improved and that game may well have been the catalyst for change.

The Giants held the Falcons' offense scoreless last week - the key for them this time will be getting to Rodgers and making him throw under pressure. The Giants have a very capable front-seven and their pass rush has been led by the emergence of Pro Bowler Jason Pierre-Paul and bolstered by the return of fellow defensive end Osi Umenyiora two weeks ago. Protecting Rodgers will be one of the keys to the game for the Packers and left tackle Chad Clifton will have his hands full with Pierre-Paul. He does, however, traditionally fare well against elite pass-rushers.

Defence has almost been a dirty word in Wisconsin this year. The Packers bid to become the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl with a defence ranked below 25th overall, on total yards allowed. Can the Giants quarterback and his receivers exploit the Packers shaky secondary? Manning will be looking to use Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham deep. He has a resurgent running game via Ahmand Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs to set up his play-action passing game in an attempt to hurt the Packers vertically. Beware though, this is a much maligned Packers defence that does give up yards but will take the ball away and the unit produced a league-high 31 interceptions. They rarely failed to take advantage of those picks and I can see Manning throwing at least one on Sunday.

There are other factors to consider, such as how will the weather affect the game? It's been a very mild winter in the upper Midwest and the current forecast for the game won't be anything near the seasonal lows that occur in Green Bay so conditions should not be a deciding factor. The Packers have also had tragedy to cope with this week as offensive coordinator Joe Philbin's son died; I'm not sure how that will affect them but what we did learn from the week's events is that Joe Philbin is deeply intertwined within the Packers' structure and success.

The Giants are visiting Lambeau for the first time since last season's 45-17 loss, in which Rodgers threw for 404 yards and four TDs. That victory started Green Bay's 19-game winning streak which was only halted by the Chiefs and they don't appear to have taken their foot of the offensive gas since. Yes, the Giants are playing better defence now but I always feel that the Packers have another gear offensively and Manning will be vulnerable if he puts the ball in the air too much and he'll need to as the Packers have put 83 points on the Giants in their last two meetings.