Barring any fluke falls in the short program, I believe it should be a battle between Michelle and Sasha. Sasha could very well win the technical program, "Malaguena" is perfectly suited to her style and is a strong program. Michelle's short is incredible, but I feel Sasha's would win in a clean battle.
The story changes dramatically for me when comparing their long programs. Sasha's "Rach" is a great program but somehow doesn't excite or move me the same way her technical program does. Michelle's long is simple and deceptively powerful. Its elegant and packed full of heartfelt emotion. If both are clean, I'd say Michelle will (or at least SHOULD) win the long program.
If Sasha skates perfectly and Michelle skates perfectly (and Sarah skates perfectly, but if the other two skate well, she's screwed), then Sasha will win, without any question. She's a much more technically talented skater since she's in her prime, and though Michelle may have something on her in the presentation department, Sasha isn't LACKING in presentation, so she won't be that far behind. However, we all know that perfect programs aren't always skated, so we'll just have to wait and see.
Kat
Does anyone know whether Sasha is planning to attempt a triple/triple at Words?
I would hate to think that ElinGrac4eva (cool name!) is right in saying that, in terms of technical skill, Sasha is in her prime this year, since she hasn't hit a triple/triple all season. I think that for Sasha, the best is yet to come.
I expect that Sarah will do at least one triple/triple.
I have a feeling Kwan is going to win .... again. If you're going to beat a champ, you have to do it decisively so I think if Sasha and Michelle are equal the edge will go to Kwan. But with this new judging system where Shen & Zhao get a second place ordinal after their stupendous LP, anything is possible. Sarah is a question mark, I haven't heard any reports of her practices and I don't look at spoilers. Nor have I heard any news on Sokolova, Volkchova or the Japanese gals.