Super Bowl 2024 expert predictions: The Sky Sports NFL team pick their MVP, surprise hero and Super Bowl champion

Prediction time! From MVP to surprise heroes, the Sky Sports NFL team make their Super Bowl LVIII picks as the San Francisco 49ers prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Las Vegas…

Winner and scoreline

Chiefs to win 20-17. I think the Kansas City Chiefs will become the first back-to-back champions since the 2003 and 2004 seasons. They have got Patrick Mahomes, they may not have the best team but they have the best player in the NFL. NEIL REYNOLDS

Chiefs to win it 28-21. I think the 49ers are a more complete team, but I just can’t bet against Patrick Mahomes in the biggest of games. HANNAH WILKES

Chiefs to win 27-24. I think the first half is going to be so defensively driven with field goals getting them to that point, but it’s going to be an exciting game either way. PHOEBE SCHECTER

Chiefs to win 24-23. I think this is one of the closest games I can think of in recent history, it’s so tight, even the bookies are having a tough time. I can’t get my head around going against Patrick Mahomes. When you play the most important position in the sport and play it as he plays it, even though they don’t have a great receiving core this year, even though Travis Kelce is really his only weapon to throw the ball to, I can’t go against him. I think this game will come down to the last possession, one way or the other. JEFF REINEBOLD

Chiefs to win 31-27. It goes down to the wire at Super Bowl LVIII. Both teams score touchdowns on their opening drives in a frantic back-and-forth opening before Patrick Mahomes out-duels Brock Purdy in an epic fourth quarter to edge the Chiefs to a second straight Super Bowl victory. CAM HOGWOOD

MVP

Patrick Mahomes. 32 of the 58 MVPs named so far in NFL history have been quarterbacks. If the Chiefs win I think they go that way and Patrick Mahomes will be MVP for the third time in his career. NEIL REYNOLDS

Patrick Mahomes. He’s put this Chiefs team on his back multiple times and there’s every possibility he does it again on Sunday. Although if it goes the 49ers way it will 100 per cent be Christian McCaffrey. HANNAH WILKES

Patrick Mahomes. I would say with the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl my pick has to be Mahomes, but if we’re the 49ers I think it would be the exception to the rule of a quarterback getting it and CMC would win it. PHOEBE SCHECTER

Patrick Mahomes. Normally a quarterback wins MVP, but I would say Christian McCaffrey stands the best chance to win it for the 49ers. I think Mahomes will win the game with a couple of big plays only Patrick Mahomes can make and then he’ll be MVP. JEFF REINEBOLD

Patrick Mahomes. He and his Chiefs were written off for much of the regular season amid their struggles on offense, but perhaps the world forgot just how good Patrick Mahomes is. He adds to his growing legacy as one of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks in history with yet another MVP award on Sunday night. CAM HOGWOOD

Surprise hero

Nick Bolton. I think the surprise hero of Super Bowl 58 will be Nick Bolton, the linebacker of the Chiefs. The 49ers have the best running back in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey, he’s the best at running the football inside and running the football outside as well as catching passes out of the backfield. Nick Bolton has to shut down Christian McCaffrey and I think he does that. He will be one of the superstars. NEIL REYNOLDS

Chris Jones. With the way this 49ers offense are stacked, I can see it coming down to a big defensive play. Steve Spagnuolo has them playing brilliantly and I can see Chris Jones getting after Purdy when it counts. HANNAH WILKES

Drue Tranquill. The Chiefs linebacker had an amazing game against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game a couple of weeks ago. His ability to play in coverage and disguise, and the way he fits into Steve Spagnuolo’s defense he’s really great at setting the edge. Spags loves to send him in to create pressure, he’s going to play such a big role in playing as a bit of a spy against Purdy as well. PHOEBE SCHECTER

Chase Young. I think the 49ers edge rusher has a real chance to come out of the shadows, because he has not played particularly well or made a big impact since coming over from Washington earlier in the season. Playing opposite Nick Bosa, I think he has an opportunity to have a big game. JEFF REINEBOLD

Leo Chenal. This game is set up for a starring role for any one of the linebackers from either team. I was tempted to go for nickel Trent McDuffie here, but I think second-year linebacker Leo Chenal could be primed for a huge game as one of the key downhill forces tasked with bottling up McCaffrey and the Niners ground attack. The Chiefs haven’t fared too kindly against zone blocking schemes this season, but Chenal’s explosiveness and ability to attack at the line of scrimmage could be vital in putting the onus on Brock Purdy to carry the workload. CAM HOGWOOD

Key to Chiefs victory

They key to victory for the Chiefs is very simple. The biggest battle in this game is how Kansas City’s defense fares against a San Francisco attack loaded with weapons. If San Francisco fail to score points it really enhances the Chiefs’ chances of winning, it’s all about that Chiefs defense. NEIL REYNOLDS

Shut down Christian McCaffery and the 49ers run game. Easier said than done. Despite being solid overall, the Chiefs defense hasn’t been the most efficient against the run and they’ve simply got to limit CMC from first contact. HANNAH WILKES

They have to continue to use the formula they have used throughout the playoffs, defense really being the stalwart and the driving force and the offensively maintaining that desire where they don’t have to get down the field and score every time and where they are able to punt it away because their defense will continue to put them in a great position to be successful. Mahomes has to connect with Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce, but I do think it will come down to the defense and the steadiness of the play-calling. PHOEBE SCHECTER

The defense has to play well. When you look at this Chiefs team compared to Chiefs teams in the past this team wins differently. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, in my mind, is the most valuable player if you will. He has done an amazing job and they won in Baltimore while holding them to 10 points, which is incredible against the best rushing offense in the league. JEFF REINEBOLD

Defense has been the story of the season for the Chiefs, and that theme won’t disappear on Sunday as they seek to tailor their blitz-heavy approach to a quarterback in Purdy who has impressed against the blitz this season. But Mahomes and co. cannot rely on them entirely to dig them out of trouble against the most talented group of weapons in the league. For all that has been said of their up-turn in form on offense, there have still be signs of Andy Reid’s side slowing down slightly in the second half of their three playoff wins. If it comes to it Mahomes, Kelce, Rashee Rice and Pacheco have to be ready for a shoot-out. Balance is crucial. CAM HOGWOOD

Key to 49ers victory

If the 49ers are going to win this Super Bowl they have to score points. The Chiefs have not been as prolific in recent years, they have been held to 20 points or fewer in half their games this season so if San Francisco can get to 24 or 28 points, and they certainly have the weapons around Brock Purdy to do that, then they will put real pressure on Kansas City. It’s a very very close game. NEIL REYNOLDS

They’ve got to start fast. It doesn’t guarantee victory over the Chiefs (we saw them come from behind to win last time these teams met in a SB, and of course last year against the Eagles) but it’s vital for Brock Purdy to feel settled and like his offense is rolling early on. This isn’t just another game, this is the Super Bowl, against an opposing quarterback who has been playing pretty flawlessly down the stretch, so in terms of the mental battle and challenge, a good, clean start is key. It’s going to be a lot harder for the 49ers to come from behind to win this one than it was in the playoffs against Green Bay and Detroit. HANNAH WILKES

It’s really going to be about Brock Purdy making great decisions. He is going to have to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers. You have got their Four Horsemen in Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. CMC is really the heartbeat and is going to need to have a great game if the 49ers are to have a chance. PHOEBE SCHECTER

Purdy has to eliminate bad plays and they cannot afford a first half like they have had over the last two games against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. If you look at what they were able to do in those games, they came back in the second half. I don’t think they can do that same thing against this Chiefs defense, which is playing at an extremely high level. JEFF REINEBOLD

Stop Isiah Pacheco and the Chiefs running game. The Packers and Lions both threatened to stop the 49ers short in their journey to the Super Bowl with success on the ground earlier on in the playoffs, only to come up shy in the face of San Francisco’s star-studded attack. Pacheco, in particular, has been instrumental in something of an offensive awakening for the Chiefs over their last three outings. Above all, Brock Purdy has to be patient in the face of a Spagnuolo defense that will toss all kinds of camouflaged coverages his way. He cannot afford costly turnovers, nor can he afford to let them snowball. CAM HOGWOOD

One bold prediction

My bold prediction is that Chiefs receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who has been non-existent for much of this season, is going to score a touchdown in the second half and it will be a big play that leads them to victory over the 49ers. NEIL REYNOLDS

Taylor Swift isn’t in attendance! HANNAH WILKES

In the fourth quarter there is going to be some kind of pressure on Brock Purdy that is going to force him to make an errant throw and that hungry Chiefs defense will come up with an interception, maybe even a pick-six! PHOEBE SCHECTER

Kansas City’s receivers won’t drop any passes. They led the league in dropped passes this year, however they have started to trend in the right direction in the playoffs, and I think it’s one thing that will really help Kansas City. JEFF REINEBOLD

Justin Bieber will appear as a guest performer during Usher’s half-time show! Oh, and Chiefs left guard Nick Allegretti will score a famous big man touchdown. CAM HOGWOOD

Watch Super Bowl LVIII from Las Vegas live on Sky Sports on Sunday February 11, with build-up from 10pm ahead of kickoff at 11.30pm; Neil Reynolds and Phoebe Schecter will be joined in the studio by former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins