- Minnesota Vikings won seven of their previous eight games
- New England Patriots have won their last three games in a row
- New England Patriots have covered the spread in their last three games.
The Minnesota Vikings (8-2) play the New England Patriots (6-4) on Friday, 25 at 01:20 at US Bank Stadium. A tally of eight wins from ten games leaves the Minnesota Vikings with a divisional ranking of first in the NFC North, while the New England Patriots are third in the AFC East after collecting six victories out of a possible ten. The oddsmakers certainly favor the Minnesota Vikings for victory when the New England Patriots come knocking on Friday. However, with the visitors coming off the back of some good wins, they might just prove to be a tough nut to crack at the US Bank Stadium.
Minnesota Vikings Form
The Minnesota Vikings will want to prove last week’s 3-40 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys was nothing more than a slight bump on the road, as they’ve been in excellent form otherwise. They’ve bagged four wins in their past five matches, leaving them 8-2 in the last 10 overall.
In terms of points added, it’s fair to say the Minnesota Vikings have a strong and consistent offense. The unit has put 22.8 points on board in the last five matches after all, while averaging 22.9 points for this season. On the other side of the ball, the defense has been relatively average in the league recently. The hosts have given up 25.8 points in the previous five outings, which is more or less on par with the 23.1 points they’ve allowed per game over the course of the regular season.
The Minnesota Vikings are touted as a potential Super Bowl challenger for this season. While it’s still early days, things are going according to plan so far. The hosts hold the second seed in the NFC Conference, leaving them set for a spot in the January playoffs. Until then, the aim will be to strengthen their position by either maintaining or improving their current seeding.
New England Patriots Form
Form is really looking good for the New England Patriots after claiming a 10-3 win against New York Jets last week. The victory extended their winning streak to three matches, improving their regular season record to 6-4. They are also 3-2 on the road.
The offense has performed to its usual standards of late, putting up 22.0 points in the last five matches, which is on par with the 21.3 points average the New England Patriots have achieved for this season. With 16.9 points allowed per game, the New England Patriots’ defense is up in the top half of the league’s defensive rankings, which may give them some pull for their latest trip.
Despite going no further than the wild card round of the playoffs in the previous football season, the New England Patriots are hopeful of a potential AFC Championship challenge after going 6-4 in the regular season so far.
Minnesota Vikings vs New England Patriots H2H
The New England Patriots bagged a 24-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings in the previous matchup between these two franchises. The encounter took place at the Gillette Stadium in December 2018. In fact, the Minnesota Vikings are winless in their past four matchups against the New England Patriots.
The Minnesota Vikings tallied 10.5 points on average per game from their four most recent head-to-head games against the New England Patriots. The latter managed an average of 28.25 points in comparison.
Standings
Both teams hold postseason berths going into their Week 12 matchup. Overall, the Minnesota Vikings have bagged two more regular season wins than the New England Patriots at 8-2. The hosts are first in the NFC North and second-seeded in the NFC Conference, while the 6-4 New England Patriots hold the sixth seed in the AFC and rank third in the AFC East.
Betting
Moneyline
Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys should be the perfect stage for the Minnesota Vikings (-167) to get back on track. They may be coming off a loss, but they are still favorites to win with home-field advantage on their side.
Against the Spread
The oddsmakers are siding with the Minnesota Vikings (-110) on the spread, but not by much. The hosts open up as 3.0-point favorites over the New England Patriots for Friday’s showdown. In the last four matchups in this series, the average points margin between these two sides was 17.8 points.
The Minnesota Vikings struggled to make home-field advantage count against the New England Patriots in their past two matchups, losing two times at the US Bank Stadium by an average losing margin of 23.5 points. In their previous ten games, the Minnesota Vikings went 4-5 ATS overall and 2-4 ATS in the last six games at home.
The smart money is on the New England Patriots, who have covered the spread in their last three games. They may be on the road, but they still look too good to pass up here. For covering the spread, the New England Patriots have managed to string together a fine record. They have covered the spread in their last three matchups, going 5-5 ATS in their last ten matchups in all.
Over/Under
The points total in matches between the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots tends to sway to the lower side, as they have averaged 38.75 points in their last four meetings.
Siding with the Under (-112) seems a worthwhile bet. The total is set at 42.5, and with the two teams boasting an average points total of 38.75 from their last four matchups, it seems going under is the way to go.
The total has averaged 46.0 points in the Minnesota Vikings’ ten most recent games, as well as 47.2 points in their last five at home. Meanwhile, on the other side of the market, the total only went over in two of the last five home games for the Minnesota Vikings. They are 4-6 against the total across their last ten games, whether home or away.
The total score went under in the last three games New England Patriots played. Interestedly, the total has gone under in six of the New England Patriots’ past nine matchups against teams from the NFC North.
