It will come as no surprise that the latest PFA player of the year odds from bwin feature Leicester pair Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez at the head of the market.
How the bwin odds compilers rate their relative chances of winning the award may raise a few more eyebrows, however.
Vardy heads the betting at 7/10, with his Foxes colleague available at 9/4, Arsenal‘s Mesut Ozil a 7/1 shot and Dimitri Payet of West Ham next at 12/1.
The former Fleetwood, Halifax and Stocksbridge Park Steels striker has enjoyed an incredible season, bagging in 11 consecutive Premier League games to break a long-standing record.
More than that, his mammoth work ethic has exemplified the intensity that the Foxes have sustained against all expectations.
However, as the season has progressed, Mahrez has gradually taken over from Vardy as Leicester’s most influential player.
The Algerian’s brilliant winning strike against Watford last weekend saw him extend his lead over his teammate in terms of direct-goal involvement (scoring or assisting) this term to three.
Of the pair, Mahrez has proven more regularly capable of conjuring the necessary inspiration down the stretch, when so many expected his side to falter.
In the pivotal clash with Manchester City at the Etihad it was the former Le Havre B man who turned a point into three by assisting one strike and scoring another.
Earlier in the campaign, during the key three games against Swansea, Everton and Chelsea that preceded their 1-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield, Mahrez was once again the inspiration, notching six goals and assisting a further one.
That he put Vardy in the shade during such a period, despite the England international scoring once and setting up a further three, is testament to the lengths he has gone to outshine his brilliant teammate.
