49ers vs Vikings Predictions: Two picks for Sunday’s showdown

The San Francisco 49ers will travel to Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Vikings at the U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday (18:00, live on Sky Sports Action).

Both sides are aiming to build on last week's opening-day victories as the Niners breezed past the Jets, while the Vikings were too strong for the Giants. Read on for my 49ers vs Vikings predictions, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

NFL Odds

Team News

Christian McCaffrey was the notable absentee for San Francisco on Monday night, and it remains to be seen whether he features on Sunday.

The likes of Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) and Dee Winters (ankle) did not feature in Wednesday's practice while Talanoa Hufanga and Aaron Banks were limited participants.

As for Minnesota, they listed four players on their initial injury report for Week 2, including Jordan Addison who has an ankle problem, and Andrew Van Ginkel, who has a foot injury. Garrett Bradbury has a knee problem but is expected to feature on Sunday, while the same applies for Jalen Nailor, who currently has an ankle issue.

49ers vs Vikings Odds

The 49ers are favourites for the game, according to the moneyline at 2/5, meaning they have a 71.4% chance of making it two wins from two games on Sunday.

The Vikings are 2/1 straight up, while they're 20/21 to cover the spread, which is currently set at 4.5.

San Francisco 49ers (-4.5) @ 20/23

Even without superstar running back Christian McCaffrey, the Niners were dominant in their 32-19 win over the Jets on Monday night.

Brock Purdy started slow, but he was soon picking apart the NY defence and I just can't see Minnesota keeping up with San Francisco's offensive weapons here.

Justin Jefferson will be a problem for the Niners' secondary, but that's the only advantage I give them. The Vikings did shock San Francisco at home last season, but I think Kyle Shanahan will have learnt from that defeat last October.

With the Niners being so short on the moneyline, I'm going to back them to cover the spread here. They covered it with ease against the Jets despite CMC's absence, and if he plays then San Francisco could really rack up the score, in my opinion.

Over 44.5 points @ 20/23

Which leads me nicely onto my second pick.

I thought the 49ers-Jets match-up on Monday was going to be a low-scoring affair due to both sides having top-10 defences last season, but that wasn't the case.

Jordan Mason was excellent in McCaffrey's absence and has shown that he can fill that role accordingly if and when needs be. George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk will be difficult to slow down, and I wouldn't be surprised if San Francisco reach 30 points in back-to-back weeks.

Like I've mentioned above, I think Jefferson will cause the Niners defence problems, and they managed to score 28 points themselves last week, showing that this offence does have potential.

I'm taking the over on the points here as I can see both teams scoring in bunches.

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