Here we go again. If England’s women (10/11) win the World Cup final tomorrow against Spain (4/5) (ko 11am BST) it seems assured that a Lioness would win SPOTY, going back to back after Beth Mead’s success last year.

It’s not easy predicting who that would be. The default is captain Millie Bright (5/1). However it may be that the chosen one for the shortlist is the winner of the golden ball (player of the tournament award). Or it could be the player of the match in the final.

Last year Keira Walsh (80/1) was the player of the match in the Euro final, scoring in England’s 2-1 win over Germany. She was overshadowed though by Mead’s achievements throughout the tournament – 6 goals and 5 assists to win the golden boot.

Lauren Hemp (12/1), Lauren James (20/1) and Alessia Russo (9/2) all have 3 goals so far but are unlikely to overhaul Hinata Miyazawa of Japan on 5. The combination of the golden boot award alongside the golden ball award helped Mead stand out even more from her teammates.

That said, the player of the tournament angle is perhaps still a useful route to anticipating who might make the shortlist. It’s quite finely balanced – and can all change in an instant in the final when anyone can become a national hero – but Hemp’s two player of the match awards so far – in the quarters and the semis – make her slightly ahead of the pack pre-game. Russo is not far behind.

James may or may not start in place of Ella Toone (40/1) but either way she could still play a crucial role with a chance to redeem herself after her red card in the last 16.

Goalkeepers are always key and the potential for Mary Earps (20/1) to be the difference in a penalty shootout remains a looming possibility.

Overall it’s not easy but Hemp and James at the prices seem the two to have a small bet on to add a bit of extra interest to the game.

* 0.5 pt win Lauren Hemp 12/1 Paddy Power/ Betfair Sportsbook

* 0.25 pt win Lauren James 20/1 Paddy Power/ Betfair Sportsbook

Of course England may not win so it’s worth a look at the rest of the market. Stuart Broad (3/1) leads the way after retiring from cricket. He hit a six with the last ball of his last innings and then took the last two wickets to win the test and level the Ashes series at 2-2. It was a fairytale ending and he leaves the game with 604 test wickets and 153 in the Ashes, the most of any England bowler.

As a bit of theatre it was classic Broad, and does stand out this year. However, England didn’t win the Ashes and that adds doubt to how voteable his achievements will be. There is also plenty more important cricket to come – the World Cup in India starts in October. Ben Stokes (20/1) has come out of retirement to play. An England win (10/3) would see a big shake up in the market if the Lionesses had only finished as runners-up.

Frankie Dettori (8/1) had been the market leader until recent events. He has also announced his retirement – to come later this year after signing off domestically with Champions Day at Ascot in October and then with the big end of year meetings in USA, Australia and Hong Kong. That appears to be the plan anyway. He is a big name and the horse-people can be very motivated to vote so if he does make the shortlist he could yet be a big player. He has had a successful season winning numerous Group 1s with the potential for more to come.

The World Athletics Championships starts today and bookies have started pricing it up. It seems quite hard these days for successful Brits in this competition to challenge for SPOTY. Zharnel Hughes (33/1) is the fastest man this year in the 100m (also broke the 100m and 200m British records) but is 13/2 to win gold. Keely Hodgkinson is another with a world leading time – in the 800m.. She is currently favourite for gold but it now seems that her rival Athing Mu will compete (had previously been doubtful). She also faces tough competition from Mary Moraa who has previously beaten her when it matters.

Other big events are the Ryder Cup and the rugby union World Cup so there is plenty still to come but we will wait and see how the market looks tomorrow – it could all be over.

Any comments on how things are looking, please let us know.