Bookmaker Paddy Power has backed the formidable force of EA’s Need for Speed to claim this year’s Christmas number one, with fellow EA title FIFA 08 tipped to finish in second place.

Despite its release in September, Paddy Power gives 4/1 odds on Microsoft’s Halo 3 capturing the title, well ahead of Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 and The Simpsons Game with odds of 10/1 and 12/1 respectively.

Bizarrely, Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 is given odds of 14/1, the same as Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy, despite the fact that the title has been banned in the UK by the BBFC. Titles feeling hard done by are likely to include Sega’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and LucasArts’ Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, both of which have odds of 50/1.

Surprise inclusions include EA’s Medal of Honor: Airborne at 25/1, Namco Bandai’s Time Crisis 4 at 50/1 and Koei’s Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War, which also boasts odds of 50/1.

The list in full:

Evens: Need for Speed ProStreet
3/1: FIFA Soccer 08
4/1: Halo 3
10/1: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
12/1: The Simpsons Game
14/1: Super Mario Galaxy
14/1: Manhunt 2
18/1: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
20/1: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
22/1: Resistance: Fall of Man
25/1: Medal of Honor Heroes 2
25/1: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
33/1: Medal of Honor: Airborne
33/1: Resident Evil 4
33/1: Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
33/1: High School Musical: Sing It!
50/1: Boogie
50/1: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
50/1: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Warfighter 2
50/1: Time Crisis 4
50/1: LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
50/1: SingStar
50/1: Virtua Fighter 5
50/1: WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008
50/1: Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War