Noel tipped for top spot

Former Oasis star ahead of X Factor's Matt Cardle...

08:39 19 October 2011

Noel Gallagher is poised to take the top spot in this weekÂ’s album chart.

The former Oasis guitarist is currently selling two copies to every one that nearest rival, X Factor champion Matt Cardle is. It is the debut album for both artists.

The Official Charts Company reports that GallagherÂ’s Noel GallagherÂ’s High Flying Birds has first day sales of 55,000, while Cardle has only sold 28,000 copies of Letters.

However, a statement on the Chart Company website explains:

"The former Oasis man was always expected to get an early fan-base driven kick of sales and, with supermarket sales unlikely to make a big impact until later in the week, Cardle is likely to narrow that gap over the coming days.”

Gallagher recently spoke to entertainment website Digital Spy about his chances of reaching the top spot, saying

"I can't see it being number one as it's out the same week as Matt Cardle.

"Chart positions are for people with manbags who get to work at 11am because they've been at a digital meeting. It definitely won't affect the band - I'm on my own label and funded it with my kids' school fund - I'm hardly going to drop myself."

Both albums are out to buy and download now. The final chart positions will be announced on BBC Radio One at 3.30pm on Sunday.