Wednesday saw the supermarket chains put their cases to the watchdog Competition Commission as to why they should be allowed to buy Safeway. Chairman Sir Derek Morris said he was focusing on four points: whether four big chains were automatically better than three; whether he should include supermarkets such as M&S and Waitrose when assessing local competition; which stores would have to be sold by each buyer to avoid local domination; and how much emphasis should be put on the price reductions bidders are promising.

The meeting was thrown open to consumer groups and farming interests which also had the opportunity to sit back and listen to the proposals of each retailer.

Tesco promised more jobs; Sainsbury's promised better prices; Asda went one better, promising to extend its national rock-bottom price policy and Morrisons argued a fourth player was needed in the market. The fifth player, Phillip Green who remains the bookmaker's favourite at 7-4, controls no food retail business so he has been cleared to bid by the commission.

We will take you through each retailer's proposals beginning with Tesco: * A promise to create 5,000 jobs if bid is successful * Pledge to drop Safeway food and non-food prices by 11 per cent * Claim to have a better offer in terms of quality range and service * Most experience of running smaller branches, like many of the Safeway stores * Committed to buying a greater proportion of its goods from British Farmers * Tesco's position as the UK's largest supermarket recognises popularity with its customers Bookmakers odds: 15/2 (Source: Cantor Index)