Saturday: England are on a run of 11 straight wins, a streak that includes last March’s 68-14 triumph in Cardiff. Wales showed signs of attacking improvement in the autumn but looked poor in defence. The English are often slow starters, but they could begin their 2026 campaign with a statement victory.

Saturday: Nick Ball has a 23-0-1 record and 13 of his wins have come inside the distance, including two of his last three. If Ball can close the distance and deliver his trademark shots to the body, he can send out a message by becoming the first man to stop Brandon Figueroa.

Sunday: Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike is arguably the form forward in the Premier League at the moment. The Frenchman has bagged 16 goals this term, including three in his last two outings and he could steal the spotlight off City hotshot Erling Haaland.

New England have done incredibly well to turn their fortunes around in just one year, but their offence is simply not good enough to live with the Seattle defence. Seattle have done everything right for the last two months after reeling off nine consecutive wins and they should cover the spread in San Francisco.