Kane edges ahead of Yamal in Ballon d'Or race as ceremony moves to London's Palladium

Only a few hours remain before the Ballon d'Or winner is known. In the final calculations, England captain Harry Kane has moved ahead in the race for the award, overtaking Lamine Yamal, who had been at the centre of discussion.

This year's event brings something new. Moving beyond its familiar Paris setting, the Ballon d'Or ceremony will be held for the first time at London's historic Palladium Theatre, in the presence of world football's stars.

Last season, Kane scored 73 goals in 65 matches in the jersey of German club Bayern Munich. On the strength of those statistics he has also risen to the top of the bookmakers' calculations; according to recent betting odds, the price on his victory has shortened to 1.35.

Barcelona's Spanish young star Lamine Yamal, on the other hand, scored 16 goals in La Liga last season and assisted 11 goals for teammates. Having played an important role in Barcelona's campaign to retain the title, his name was strongly in the award race.

In the final stage, however, the betting price on Yamal has drifted from 3.25 at one point to 6.00. Analysts believe Kane's lead in a recent award by Spanish media outlet Marca is one reason for this change. Bookmakers' odds, however, do not determine the final result of the award.

There is added interest around a possible Kane victory from the perspective of English football history as well. The last player from the country to win the Ballon d'Or was Michael Owen in 2001.

The men's Ballon d'Or winner is decided by votes from selected sports journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings. From a 30-player shortlist they choose their top 10 players in order; the first-placed player receives 15 points, second place 12 and third place 10. At the end of voting, the player with the highest points receives the Ballon d'Or.