Matt Cardle Wishes Noel Gallagher 'All The Best'

X Factor winner Matt Cardle has praised his chart rival Noel Gallagher as "a legend" as the pair go head-to-head in the race for this week's biggest selling album.

Gallagher's debut solo album High Flying Birds looks like landing the top spot on Sunday, with a significant lead over Cardle's new release, Letters.

The ex-Oasis star has so far sold 55,000 copies, while Letters has shifted 28,000, according to the Official Chart Company, although Cardle, 28, is expected to close the gap in the coming days once supermarket sales filter in.

Speaking ahead of a free acoustic show at HMV music store, in Oxford Street, central London, Cardle said: "Noel is quite a legend to be fair. I haven't heard the whole album - I've heard some tracks and they're great - but I wish him all the best."

The rivalry between Cardle and Gallagher's albums has built up during the past few weeks, with Gallagher claiming that he had turned down an offer from Simon Cowell to be an X Factor judge.

Cardle said Cowell had little input into his new album, adding: "I'm really thankful to Simon for letting me go away and write the album as I saw fit. We had a vision for the album quite early on and now it's come to life."

Source: The Press Association