The Vikings are looking to paint the town purple.

They are two wins from becoming the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its own stadium.

Sunday’s home game could be the toughest test. The Saints don’t have quite the smothering defense of the Vikings, but they have a seasoned quarterback in Drew Brees and all sorts of offensive weapons (though they will be without receiver Brandon Coleman because of a neck injury).

This game pits coaches Sean Payton of the Saints and Mike Zimmer of the Vikings. A dozen years ago, they were assistant coaches for the Cowboys, with Payton overseeing the quarterbacks and Zimmer the defensive coordinator.

These franchises met in the 2009 NFC championship game, in which the Saints beat the Brett Favre-led Vikings to advance to — and ultimately win — their only Super Bowl.

They played in this season’s Monday night opener, too, but the teams looked very different. It was Sam Bradford at quarterback for the Vikings, not Case Keenum, and Adrian Peterson (now with the Cardinals) was at running back for the Saints.

He’s back: The Vikings activated Bradford from injured reserve Saturday, adding him to their 53-man roster. Bradford, who completed 27 of 32 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings’ Week 1 win over the Saints, twisted his left knee in the game and missed the next three games before making a truncated return on Oct. 9 against the Bears.

He hasn’t played in a game since then, and he went on injured reserve Nov. 8 after having his third operation on his left knee. He returned to practice last week.

Asked on Friday if Bradford was ready to play in a game, coach Mike Zimmer said, “I think so.” When asked to assess Bradford’s progress, he said, “He’s working in, but he’s got a way to go still.”

Farmer’s pick: Both teams are capable of getting to the Super Bowl and winning it. The Saints are more explosive than they showed in Sunday’s victory over the Panthers, and they will present problems even for the Vikings’ outstanding defense. The Saints will do just enough to pull off an upset. Saints 27, Vikings 24.

sam.farmer@latimes.com