Three of our gurus give Crystal Chappell (Olivia on "Guiding Light") the best odds (5 to 2 — to see full breakdown, click here) to win supporting actress: Mara Levinsky of Soap Opera Digest, Mark McGarry of Soap Opera Weekly and me. Charlie Mason of Soaps in Depth picks Jennifer Ferrin (Jennifer on "As the World Turns"). Daniel R. Coleridge of TVGuide.com goes with Gina Tognoni (Dinah of "Guiding Light"). Nelson Branco of In Touch Weekly and Canada's Weekly Scoop opts for Tracey Bregman (Lauren on "Young and the Restless"). Here's why:

MASON: "I'm blown away by Renee Elise Goldsberry, who turns heartbreak into high art (and that voice!). However, at least this year, not even she is gonna beat Jennifer Ferrin's tour de force. She's soapdom's new Julianne Moore. (Or at least our new JenFin.)"

McGARRY: "Crystal Chappell's reel is so good, she could have competed in Lead. She's my choice. But Tognoni and Ferrin also rock."

COLERIDGE: "This is a really tough category to call, but my money's on Ms. Tognoni. She plays a conniving, bitchy murderess desperate to reform her ways and be good. I can't believe I find myself relating to her so much! It's because no matter how outrageous Dinah's words or deeds, Tognoni makes us see the character's humanity. What an actress. She is unquestionably the reason to watch the ailing 'Guiding Light' these days."

BRANCO: "WHO SHOULD WIN: Tognoni is unforgetable each time she's onscreen and is considered one of the best recasts in soap history. WHO WILL WIN: Bregman deserves this honor, but her reel was surprisingly soft. Chappell is a dark horse. This category is a crap shoot, I'm going with Bregman. Most ingenues who win Emmys, as she did, usually pull off another Emmy in supporting. As always, the supporting categories always have the biggest upsets: remember Lesli Kay and Shemar Moore?"

LEVINSKY: "Chappell's the one to beat. She produced a home-run reel."

ME: Chappell's delivers a bull's-eye perf waving that pistol around while demanding to know where her daughter Emma is. Beware all divas who stand in her path to the Emmy podium.

To learn what episodes the nominees submitted to Emmy judges and to find out what our forum posters think of them, click here!

Photo: Chappell won the Emmy for supporting actress four years ago and has been nominated three times since.
(NATAS)