According to Italian betting agency Sisal Matchpoint, previous favourite Elodie was on Thursday joined by Francesco Gabbani with odds of 5:0.
Elodie competed in the contest back in 2017, performing the song Tutta colpa mia.
That hit peaked at number 12 on the Italian chart and was certified platinum.
Francesco Gabbani represented Italy at Eurovision 2017.
His song Viceversa was leading the provisional leaderboard after the second night of Sanremo.
Second in the bookies odds was Diodato (6:0) with his song Fai rumore.
Another familiar face at Sanremo, Diodato came second in the Newcomers’ category at the 2014 edition of the festival.
With odds of 9:0, Le Vibrazione and Pinguini Tattici Nucleari rounded out the top picks as of Thursday.
On the third evening of the festival, contestants will have the chance to perform songs from previous editions.
