X Factor final latest odds

However, Christopher Maloney has gone beyond the stage reached by the camp Rylan Clark and the scouser is now as short as 3/1 to claim victory on Sunday night against his two male rivals, with the girls and groups having bitten the dust in the last weeks.

Maloney is a best price 9/2 (Sportingbet free bets) to be given a recording contract and a shot at the Christmas number one, with many viewers feeling angry that Ella Henderson is going up against Jahmene Douglas and James Arthur.

However, the judges had decisions to make when it came to sending through acts and Maloney is still standing and likely to have the city of Liverpool voting for him en masse, including his grandmother who has been made semi-famous by the show.

The other two singers left in the 2012 X Factor are clearly superior to the underdog and the bookies are finding it hard to call a favourite, with James Arthur’s odds really shortening in recent weeks as the singer and guitarist starts to build up a big fan base which could see him claim the spoils.

Arthur is being billed as the new Ed Sheeran and he continues to take pop songs and add an original twist to them, with a best price 13/10 (Blue Square bookmaker) being offered that he is celebrating with mentor Nicole Scherzinger on Sunday night.

The Pussycat Dolls singer headed up to his native Middlesbrough this week which suggests she thinks he has every chance of succeeding, although Jahmene Douglas has the sob story which could swing the balance in his favour.

In fairness, Douglas also has an excellent singing voice and 11/8 (bet365) about him claiming the spoils might end up looking like a gift of a price about someone who became favourite for the competition before Henderson was dumped out.

However, strange things happen when it comes to reality TV shows and it would not be a surprise if Christopher Maloney was enjoying a glitter show and a winner’s prize this weekend.