Taylor Swift, Cliff Richard, Michael Bublé, George Ezra & Sam Ryder in contention for the UK’s Christmas Number 1 album

Just 1400 chart units currently separate the Top 5

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Five chart titans battle it out in the race for this week’s Official Christmas Number 1 album, with just 1,400 chart units separating the entire Top 5 at the midweek stage.

Taylor Swift currently leads the pack with Midnights, which could rebound back to the top spot following its two-week run at Number 1 last month. Should it hold on, it’ll tie with Taylor’s 2020 release folklore as her second LP to spend three weeks at the summit.

MORE: See how the Christmas Number 1 race is looking so far

But it’s by no means a done deal, as Cliff Richard currently sits just 600 chart units behind Taylor at Number 2. His festive collection Christmas With Cliff could lift 6 spots this week following the broadcast of his BBC Two special Cliff At Christmas last weekend. Christmas With Cliff narrowly missed out on the Number 1 spot earlier this month, when Stormzy pipped him to the post with This Is What I Mean.

Could the music legend topple Taylor by Friday and claim his eighth Number 1 LP?

Elsewhere in the Top 5, and soaring ahead on streams so far, is Michael Bublé’s yuletide staple Christmas (3). Having peaked at Number 1 back in 2011, there’s a strong chance it could return to the top this week as it sits around 900 chart units behind Number 1.

MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2022 Christmas Number 1 announcement

The Christmas Edition of George Ezra’s former chart-topper Gold Rush Kid sees it vault 16 places back into the Top 5 midweek (4), while last week’s Number 1, Sam Ryder’s There’s Nothing But Space, Man!, looks to be standing strong in its second week on chart (5).

Notable climbers at the midweek mark include Alfie Boe and Michael Ball with Together In Vegas (13), Queen’s timeless Greatest Hits collection (22), Luke Evans’ A Song For You (27), Wet Leg’s eponymous, Mercury Prize-nominated debut (30), and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon (35).

And finally, the Spice Girls’ Spiceworld could lift back into the Top 40 for the first time in 24 years this week, following the release of a 25^th anniversary two-disc edition (29).