WHEN?: Saturday 11 March (7pm UK time) on SVT (link to watch below)

2017 sees the strongest final line-up we can remember, our favourite is currently the highest placed entry on Swedish iTunes and the introduction of the international juries into Saturday’s show should add a fascinating dynamic to proceedings.

• Read on for our predictions for the 12 finalists and their heat performances

1. Ace Wilder Wild Child OUR RANKING: 4th PREDICTION: 6th

Does 34-year-old Ace make for a convincing Wild Child? This is her third entry and we’re starting to tire of her a little although the song is a pop gem that we could probably imagine better fronted by Dolly Style.

2. Boris René Her Kiss OUR RANKING: 10th PREDICTION: 12th

We love how Justin Timberlake Boris’s song is this year and it made for a great opener to the whole shebang. The routine is not giving us chills and despite a good performance, we think this might struggle.

3. Lisa Ajax I Don’t Give A OUR RANKING: 8th PREDICTION: 9th

The sweariest of all the sweary songs in this year’s MF, it has really grown on us in the gap between heat 2 and final. Better than Ms Ajax’s previous entry and likely to do better than expected on Saturday.

4. Robin Bengtsson I Can’t Go On OUR RANKING: 6th PREDICTION: 4th

We’ve really tired of the swearing in this year’s MF and Robin is wisely removing the offending f words from his entry this year. Not as memorable as last year’s Constellation Prize for us despite the possibility of slip-ups the onstage use of travelators presents.

5. Jon Henrik Fjällgren feat. Aninia  En Värld Full Av Strider OUR RANKING: 9th PREDICTION: 3rd

We may be underestimating this because we don’t understand its lyric. Jon Henrik benefits a great deal from the presence of his more conventional co-vocalist and this boasts the contest’s best key change. But it all sounds a little been-there-done-that-and-better to our ears.

6. Anton Hagman Kiss You Goodbye OUR RANKING: 2nd PREDICTION: 7th

Anton surprised everyone in kissing Loreen goodbye at AC and it’s a good performance of an extremely catchy song. We loved this from the moment we heard it and think it’s a dark horse for the win.

7. Mariette A Million Years OUR RANKING: 7th PREDICTION: 5th

A gorgeous piano motif to open and impressive build but the chorus is a little too laid-back for our liking. We prefer it to Mariette’s last MF success Don’t Stop Believing and the elastic gymnastics is memorable but on the whole this is underwhelming.

8. FO&O Gotta Thing About You OUR RANKING: 5th PREDICTION: 8th

Winning Andra Chansen’s battle of the boy bands, sees FO&O as the only group in the final. Gotta Thing About You‘s vocals and choreography are expressed with polish but we would’ve liked them to have more of a song to get stuck into.

9. Nano Hold On OUR RANKING: 3rd PREDICTION: 1st

A pop take on a contemporary sound drawing on the work of Hozier and Rudimental that wouldn’t be out of place in the US and UK charts. Nano makes for an unconventional Melodifestivalen act but we agree with the bookies that this song has big potential.

10. Wiktoria As I Lay Me Down OUR RANKING: 1st PREDICTION: 2nd

We weren’t expecting a huge amount from this as we weren’t big fans of her previous entry although this is a different class. The music is Dolly Parton does Avicii with a Lightning Seeds strum and a big hook. She’s been criticised for her oversinging and occasional bum note but it’s a monster pop song that deserves 100 per cent commitment from the delivery. Our favourite.

11. Benjamin Ingrosso Good Lovin’ OUR RANKING: 11th PREDICTION: 10th

We weren’t too complimentary on first hearing this entry from the 2006 Lilla Melodifestivalen winner who is also the son of schlager royalty Pernilla Wahlgren. On closer inspection it could be a Justin Timberlake album track and is convincingly performed. A case perhaps of an act outperforming their material.

12. Owe Thörnqvist Boogieman Blues OUR RANKING: 12th PREDICTION: 11th

MF often has an old school rockabilly entry like this that makes the final but we certainly weren’t expecting MF’s oldest ever contestant at 87 years young to outdo Anton Hagman and FO&O. It’s fun, like a Swedish Jools Holland but we do expect it to run out of momentum in the final.

• Watch Melodifestivalen here. Ukraine hosts the 2017 Eurovision final in Kiev on 14 May. We’ll be previewing it on this site. Picture via Facebook courtesy Melodifestivalen. Read our 5 greatest Melodifestivalen winners here.
• Enjoyed this preview? Follow its author on Twitter @NeilDurham or check us out on Facebook