BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award odds, betting tips and predictions

Free tips, best bets and analysis for the Sports Personality of the Year Awards on Wednesday.

Where to watch

BBC One & BBC iPlayer, 6.45pm Wednesday

Best bet

Ronnie O'Sullivan top-three finish
1pt 4-6 Hills

Sports Personality of the Year preview

Some of the great and good of British sport have been named Sports Personality of the Year in the past.

A shortlist of six are in the running to take home the prestigious accolade, which will be handed out at Media City in Salford, on Wednesday night with the betting headed by Lioness Beth Mead.

Mead was named player of the tournament and won the Golden Boot as England’s Lionesses brought football home in this summer's Women's European Championship. And she is no bigger than 1-25 to take home the award, although the other five men and women on the shortlist will all have their supporters.

Beth Mead

As soon as the Lionesses had won England's first major title since Bobby Moore led the country's men to World Cup glory in 1966 with victory in this summer's Euros, it was highly likely that a member of the team would be high on the list to win Sports Personality.

And there is no better candidate than Beth Mead, who won the Golden Boot for her six goals and was named player of the tournament.

The Arsenal striker’s 20 goals for the Lionesses across the 2021-22 season broke Jimmy Greaves’s record for most goals by an England international in a single campaign.

Mead came second to Spain's Alexia Putellas in the vote for the women's Ballon d’Or award, but she has rock-solid claims of coming first on Wednesday night.

Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes took over as England cricket captain in April and has overseen a remarkable turnaround of the fortunes of the Test team.

England have won nine of their ten Tests under Stokes's watch as they capped a magnificent year with a 3-0 clean sweep in Pakistan on Tuesday, becoming the first visiting team to win three matches in a series in the country.

Stokes has also produced moments of individual brilliance in 2022. He was named named player of the series against South Africa in the summer and guided England to victory in October's T20 World Cup final.

A previous Sports Personality winner for his Ashes and World Cup final heroics in 2019, Stokes looks certain to at least finish in the first three.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

Sports Personality of the Year is about one of the only things snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan hasn't won, but the Rocket is a big runner for a top-three finish after winning a record-equalling seventh World Championship title earlier this year.

O'Sullivan became the oldest world champion when beating Judd Trump at The Crucible and he is currently ranked number one in the world after also winning the Hong Kong Masters and the Champion of Champions.

A firm fan's favourite, the legend of the baize has solid claims of a top-three finish.

Jake Wightman

British middle-distance legends Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram were all Sports Personality winners between 1978 and 1983, and the current 1,500m world champion Jake Wightman is 100-1 to join that illustrious cast.

The first Briton to win the 1,500m world tile since Cram 39 years ago, Wightman did so as his father and coach Geoff commentated from the stands in Portland, Oregon.

Wightman will no doubt receive strong support from athletics community but the fact it was a world title and not the Olympics may see him struggle to pick up a wider public vote.

Eve Muirhead

Another Scot, Eve Muirhead, was the winning skip as Great Britain’s women curlers overcame Japan to claim Winter Olympic gold.

That was Britain's sole gold of the Beijing Games and Muirhead followed up with victory at the World Mixed Doubles Championship before announcing her retirement from the sport.

The fact curling isn't a popular sport means she faces an uphill battle to garner enough support.

Jessica Gadirova

The rising star of British gymnastics, Jessica Gadirova became just the fifth British athlete to win an individual world title in artistic gymnastics this year.

The 18-year-old also took home team silver and all-around bronze, although despite her achievements she is far from a household name which will probably count against her in the public vote.

Verdict

Short-priced favourites have an excellent recent record of winning the Sports Personality of the Year award and this year looks no different.

Mead has had a record-breaking year, and with the surge in popularity of women’s football brought about by the Lionesses’ European Championship success, it is easy to see why she is so short to be take home the title.

The way Stokes has revived the fortunes of England's Test team is sure to translate into votes and he well may benefit from some recency bias given his side completed a series clean sweep in Pakistan on Tuesday. He looks likely to fill second spot.

O’Sullivan’s reputation as a colourful character may have worked against him in the past but he is still at the top of his sport at 47 and is by far the most recognisable of the remainder of the shortlist.

The Rocket looks the likeliest candidate to round out the top three and quotes of 4-6 about him finishing on the podium looks far.

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