Super Bowl LVIII preview: Kansas City Chiefs v San Francisco 49ers

Las Vegas hosts the Super Bowl for the first time as the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers meet in the 58th renewal and a repeat of the NFL's decider in 2020, which the Chiefs won on a 31-20 scoreline in Miami.

Sin City has been built on gambling, but the Nevada desert has proven an inhospitable live sport environment for all bar boxing until recently, with the UFC, the expansion of ice hockey’s Vegas Golden Knights, the arrival of the Las Vegas Raiders, the imminent relocation of the soon-to-be Las Vegas Athletics and Formula One now threatening to turn the place into a veritable oasis.

Before a pass was thrown, the Chiefs were the favourites to lift a third Vince Lombardi Trophy in five years.

However, Andy Reid’s charges opened the regular season with a defeat and were supplanted early on at the head of the betting by the 49ers, who’ve remained there.

Wild Card winners at home over the Miami Dolphins, the Chiefs went on the road and scored upset wins over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round and the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game.

As NFC stop seeds, the 49ers should have had an easier path to Allegiant Stadium, but they needed to rely on more than a hint of good fortune to account for the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions in the post-season.

Two-point favourites to win their first Super Bowl since 1995, the 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan have been eager to deflect pressure after a series of near misses in recent seasons.

Shanahan, the son of two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Mike Shanahan, not only saw his side fall short in Super Bowl LIV four years ago, he’s also suffered reversals in the the NFC Championship decider in two of the last three seasons.

While he