Monday 17 December 2007 at 15:14

Kate Melua has stolen a march on her rival Leona Lewis in their battle for this year's Christmas number one single.

Lewis had been at the top of the charts for seven weeks with her release 'Bleeding Love' but she has been relegated to second position by Melua's duet with the late Eva Cassidy, a remake of Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World'.

And with X Factor winner Leon poised to become favourite with the release of his single, Leona's odds of securing her second consecutive Christmas number one have slipped to 14/1 with Boyle Sports, with Katie priced at 8/1 with William Hill.

Melua and Cassidy will stay at the top of the charts at least for a week, with all the profits from the sale of the single going to the British Red Cross.

Meanwhile, festive favourite 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' by Mariah Carey stormed up the charts to number four - putting it in with an outside chance of becoming number one in time for Christmas.

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