INDIANAPOLIS — The New England Patriots will attempt to make history today in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium.

But history is on the New York Giants’ side.

In the NFL’s big game, revenge is a dish rarely served at all. Just two franchises in the event’s 45-year history ever have avenged a previous loss in the title game.

The Washington Redskins were the first to do it, knocking off the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII 10 years after becoming the final victim of the Dolphins’ perfect season.

The Dallas Cowboys are the most recent avengers, scoring a Super Bowl XXX victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers after losses in Super Bowls X and XIII.

The Giants famously won Super Bowl XLII four years ago in Glendale, Ariz., to end the Patriots’ bid at their own unbeaten campaign.

That shared history was a common topic during the past week in Indianapolis, but both teams quickly moved to distance themselves from that game.

“This group of young men is trying to create history for themselves,” New York head coach Tom Coughlin said. “We’re very proud of what was accomplished a few years ago, but some of the phrases that are being used to identify this game and that game and the connections, I don’t

necessarily agree with all of those.”

Even Coughlin, however, allows that the similarities between those Giants and these Giants are significant.

Both teams tore through the NFC playoffs with a deep and ferocious pass rush coupled with uncanny play by quarterback Eli Manning. And both won the NFC Championship Game in overtime on a field goal by Lawrence Tynes.

But, of the 22 players who started for New York four years ago on Super Bowl Sunday, just seven remain on the roster. New England has just five of its 22 starters still in house.

“There aren’t really a lot of us coaches and players who were involved in that game, and very few players, in relative terms, between both teams,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. “We are where we are now, and we’re different than where we were earlier in the season. The Giants are where they are now, and I think they’re different than where they were at different points of the season. To take it back years and years before that, I don’t think it has too much bearing on anything. The team that wins Sunday will be the team that performs the best.”

On Nov. 6, in Foxborough, Mass., that team again was the Giants. After a scoreless first half, New England took a 20-17 lead when Tom Brady connected with tight end Rob Gronkowski for a 14-yard touchdown pass with

1:36 left in the game.

Manning calmly drove New York 80 yards down the field for the winning score. With 30 seconds left, a 20-yard pass interference call against Patriots defensive back Sergio Brown put the ball at New England’s 1-yard line. And Manning hit tight end Jake Ballard in the end zone for the winning points with 15 ticks left on the clock.

“I’ve probably been asked 100 questions about our first Patriots game and the catches I had in that game and, ‘What do I think about the catches?,’” Ballard, who also had a 30-yard reception on the final drive, said. “It’s all well and great. It was good for me then. But I’m just trying to move past that. That was a great game and huge victory for the Giants this year. But we’re trying to have a bigger victory against them right now.”

New York struggled in the immediate aftermath of that victory, losing four straight and five of the next six overall. But the Giants caught fire on Christmas Eve against the rival New York Jets.

The NFC champions have won five straight games, by an average of nearly 15 points, and enter today’s game as a 3-point favorite.

It’s led to a level of confidence bordering on arrogance during Super Bowl week. But defensive tackle Chris Canty — who drew attention for referencing a potential victory parade during the week — said it’s all

just part of New York’s us-against-the-world mentality.

“Let’s be honest, nobody believed in us to get to this point,” he said. “We’re here now. We’re playing good football. We’re a confident group, and we’re excited about the opportunity to go out there and play on Sunday.”

The Patriots are playing good football, too.

Their last loss came in that regular-season game against the Giants, and they have shown something of a lucky streak.

New England beat the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game despite losing the turnover battle. Baltimore wide receiver Lee Evans briefly had the potential game-winning touchdown pass in his hands in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. And Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff shanked a 32-yard field goal that would have forced overtime.

But the Patriots’ 31st-ranked defense has vastly improved in the postseason, and Brady is playing as well as at any point in his storied career.

A victory Sunday would give Brady and Belichick four Super Bowl crowns, tying them with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll as the most prolific quarterback-head coach combo in the event’s history.

“This is everything that you ask for as an athlete and as competitors,” Brady said. “I said (Tuesday) when you’re not playing in this game it sucks to turn on the TV these days. Every channel you turn on is talking about this game and the players in this game. As a competitor you want to be here. You need to be here.”

When kickoff arrives at 6:29 p.m., all the talk will be over. The results of the game two months ago won’t matter. The results from four years ago will be a distant memory.

Nearly all the media experts in Indy this week are expecting a classic confrontation. Three of the past four Super Bowls have been decided by six points or less. There’s no reason today’s game should be any different.

“If it’s the two best teams in football, it should come down to the wire,” Ballard said. “That means they’re playing a heck of a game on all fronts, and it should come down to the last possession or two.”