WHO WILL WIN? This Super Bowl has the potential to join the ranks of the classics. Which probably means that it won’t take off at all as a game, but it looks good on paper.

The Steelers, as has been the tradition, come to town with an excellent defence having finished the regular season ranked first in nearly every defensive statistical category. The Cardinals and, in particular Larry Fitzgerald (who endured and survived the hardship of having a sports editor for a dad), have been ripping it up at the attacking end of things. The Cards have scored an average of 26.7 points per game and are ranked fourth in the league for passing.

The offensive threat of the Steelers is built on the running of Willie Parker, the throwing of Ben Roethlisberger and the ability of Heath Miller and Hones Ward to find space.

Roethlisberger is an interesting guy to watch. He has the quarterback’s iced blood and then some again, and will hold the ball for what seems like an impossibly long time, often finally fleeing the pocket and improvising a big throw.

The Cardinals will make a point of targeting Roethlisberger, and if they can find a way to get a few early sacks may upset the Steelers.

The Cardinals’ best hope lies in the fact their offence has improved steadily in the post-season, with running back Edgerrin James becoming increasingly influential just as Fitzgerald’s receiving and touchdowns have vaulted him towards the status of legend.

They like to vary things, mixing the running game with some passing and keeping rival defences guessing. They have a depth of options, too, often throwing to Anquan Boldin or Steve Breaston instead of Fitzgerald and moving both men around the positions to keep defences honest.

Fitzgerald, though, is the nut Pittsburgh must crack. He has been double-teamed for much of the play-offs and has still been posting record figures. Expect to see Ike Taylor trailing after Fitzgerald for much of the evening. The Steelers will take their chances on Breaston or Boldin after that.

The Steelers remain favourites through experience, tradition and tough defence, but know they are vulnerable not just through Fitzgerald’s genius and the experience of Kurt Warner in finding him but also in terms of the Cardinals’ backroom team, almost all of whom were recruited from the Steelers organisation over the past few years. If anybody knows what the Steelers are thinking, they do.

The smart money says the Cardinals will go all out in the first quarter in an attempt to disrupt the Steelers’ defensive solidity. How they succeed in that will determine the shape of the rest of the game.

PREDICTION:Pittsburgh by 10 or more and a record sixth title going back to the city of three rivers.