EUROS TV PUNDIT RATINGS: Which 8/10 star 'oozed class' for the BBC? Whose stylist deserves a raise? And what's the score for blame-game presenter Gary Lineker?

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It is the big question heading into Sunday's Euros final - even more important than whether Harry Kane should start. And that questions is: on which channel should you watch the big match? 

BBC and ITV share the honour of televising the game and have done all they can to persuade viewers that they're the ones to be trusted on such an occasion.

Now, the remote is in your hand. Still haven't made your mind up? 

Mail Sport's guide to the battle of the broadcasters will steer you in the right direction…

The BBC will compete with ITV for the most viewers during their Euro 2024 coverage

Ian Wright (left), Gary Neville (centre) and Roy Keane (right) again featured in ITV's line-up

The Three Lions beat the Netherlands to book their spot against Spain in Berlin on Sunday

PRESENTERS

Gary Lineker (BBC) - 5/10

No, the beeping you can hear isn't because you haven't closed your fridge properly. It's Gary Lineker, stuck in reverse and trying to back his way out of calling England 's***' on his podcast.

Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan did a solid job in the early rounds but since then all eyes have been on the Beeb's highest-paid staff member and his £16 Next T-shirts. Never misses an opportunity, does Gary, whether it's blaming journalists for his own words or promoting his gear.

Mark Pougatch (ITV) - 8/10

A presenter who sticks to the task at hand and keeps the focus on the action, rather than the wardrobe department.

Pougatch may not have 80 caps and 48 goals for the Three Lions but that should not be held against him. Pougatch knows exactly what question the average Joe is thinking at home and gets the answer to it.

Lineker took flak for labelling England 's***' but has fronted the bulk of the BBC's live shows

Mark Pougatch has stuck to the task at home and kept the focus on the action on the pitch

PUNDITS

Rio Ferdinand (BBC) - 6.5

You can't fault Ferdinand's passion for his country, but for one of the finest defenders in English football history, you are left feeling a little short-changed when it comes to tactical analysis.

Ian Wright (ITV) - 7.5

It's impossible not to be enchanted by Wright's sheer passion for the game, though his incessant use of players' first names has occasionally left my finger hovering over the remote.

Wright's analysis has improved markedly over the years, though, and it's a shame he has hung up his Match of the Day microphone just as he was entering the peak of his punditry powers.

Ian Wright's analysis has improved over the years and his sheer passion is enchanting

Frank Lampard (BBC) - 7

There's no doubting Lampard's knowledge of the modern game but his and Ferdinand's effusive praise of England's lacklustre first-half display against the Swiss was bizarre.

Perhaps they are glass-half-full kinds of guys. In that case, I'll have what they're drinking for the final, please bartender.

Roy Keane (ITV) - 7.5

Keane is known for calling it as he sees it and he deserves kudos for not jumping on the Gareth Southgate-bashing bandwagon like many of his colleagues.

Never afraid to stir the pot in the studio and there are few people you'd rather listen to when it comes to breaking down the midfield battle than Keane.

Micah Richards (BBC) - 7

The self-appointed president of the Phil Foden fan club. Brings the banter to the BBC coverage, but Richards's analysis of England's left back situation has proven he is much more than a man with an infectious laugh.

Gary Neville (ITV) - 7.5

He may not have the same gizmos at his disposal as he does in the Sky Sports studio but Neville has been insightful on the pressures that weigh on England players and coaches during a major tournament.

Neville has even managed to suppress the urge to mention Manchester United in every other sentence. Someone ought to give his stylist a raise, too.

Cesc Fabregas (BBC) - 8.5

Without doubt, the addition of the tournament from the broadcasting side of things.

The Spaniard oozed class on the pitch and has been just as silky as the BBC's continental offering during the tournament. Fabregas is the only pundit who can say they've won the tournament, too - and he did it twice! He will be joined by fellow Spaniard Juan Mata for the final.

Without doubt, Cesc Fabregas has been the best broadcasting addition at the tournament

Karen Carney (ITV) - 7

There's a reason Carney gets the nod from ITV when it comes to the major tournaments.

You'll be hard-pressed to come away from a game in which Carney has been part of the punditry team without learning something, though we haven't heard as much from her in her role as a pitch-side pundit at this tournament.

COMMENTATORS

Guy Mowbray (BBC) - 8

You know exactly what you're getting with the BBC commentary crew - nothing too fancy, nor too shabby - and no one epitomises that better than Guy Mowbray. Mowbray is never superfluous with his words but knows exactly when to deliver his zinger of the evening.

Sam Matterface (ITV) - 8

So unceremonious was Clive Tyldesley's dumping from ITV that it would've looked more at home on Love Island, the channel's hit dating show.

The Tyldesley love train shouldn't derail Sam Matterface's ascent to the top. Matterface is the master of transporting the energy and anticipation from inside the stadium to our living rooms and deserves his role as ITV's man for the big occasion.

Sam Matterface deserves his role as ITV's lead commentator for the big occasion

CO-COMMENTATORS

Alan Shearer (BBC) - 7

Shearer knows what it's like to be firing blanks at the Euros for England, but that hasn't stopped him from offering his forthright views on Harry Kane. Not your go-to man when it comes to dissecting a defective defence but Shearer hasn't held back in highlighting England's deficiencies during their run to the final.

Lee Dixon (ITV) - 5.5

Whoever at ITV decided to put the formidable Ally McCoist on air with Lee Dixon for England's semi-final deserves a raise. Some won't have been comfortable with a Scot - even man of the people McCoist - overseeing one of England's biggest games in recent history. But if more McCoist means less dithering from Dixon then sign me up.

Lee Dixon has scored just a 5.5 and is guilty of dithering during his co-commentary duties

VERDICT

BBC are the serial winners when it comes to the battle of the broadcasters - a peak of 31million tuned into the Euro 2020 final making it the UK's most-watched TV event since Princess Diana's funeral with the BBC picking up 81 per cent of the audience. 

But if you're happy to grin and bear the advert breaks, there's only one channel to watch on Sunday evening for my money. I'll be over with Pougatch and Co at ITV, the perfect company to watch football come home with.

FINAL SCORE: BBC 49, ITV 51