Two 'favourites' emerge to replace Gary Lineker as BBC's Match of the Day host
Gary Lineker's future with the BBC as host of the Match of the Day has been the subject of speculation in recent months
by Mark Wakefield · football.londonTwo favourites have emerged to replace Gary Lineker as the host of the BBC's Match of the Day.
Lineker has been the host of the flagship football highlights and analysis show since 1999 but is only under contract at the BBC until the end of the season. As a result, there is speculation about whether or not Lineker will remain at the helm of Match of the Day heading into the 2025/26 Premier League season and beyond.
The BBC has played down the rumours about Lineker's future as host of the programme, insisting that a decision has not been made on whether a new contract will be offered to the former Leicester City striker. “We have nothing to announce, and we have not agreed next steps with regard to his contract,” a BBC spokesperson said. “He is under contract until the end of the season.”
With the speculation swirling, bookmaker William Hill have listed odds on who could be Lineker's replacement as the next host of Match of the Day. The latest odds suggest that Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman are joint favourites to get the job with 5/2 odds, each.
Logan was linked with replacing Lineker in the summer and has been part of Amazon Prime's coverage of the Champions League this season. Chapman currently hosts the BBC's Match of the Day 2 programme on Sunday evenings, as well as Sky Sports' coverage of the Carabao Cup.
Micah Richards is next in the betting with 4/1 odds, with the former Manchester City defender already a regular guest on the show. Richards also works as a pundit for Sky Sports for the Premier League and CBS Sports' coverage of the Champions League.
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Alexi Scott (5/1), Dion Dublin (6/1) and Clare Balding (7/1) are the next names in the betting to be Lineker's replacement. Scott currently hosts Football Focus for the BBC, while Balding worked as a host during the broadcaster's coverage of the Olympics in Paris earlier this summer.
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