BEIJING (AFP) – World champion Daisuke Takahashi is expected to lead a strong Japanese charge at this week's figure skating Grand Prix Final in Beijing, with a chance for a clean sweep of the podium in the men's event.

The two-day competition, which opens on Friday, features the top six finishers by points in each category from the six-event International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix series.

Each skater or duo can enter two events to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.

Led by Takahashi, Japan's other representatives in the men's field are top qualifier Takahiko Kozuka -- who won in Paris last month -- and 23-year-old Nobunari Oda.

Takahashi is a favorite for the men's title in the absence of Vancouver Olympic gold medallist Evan Lysacek of the United States, who has decided to take a break from competition for the rest of the year.

The 24-year-old Japanese champion's confidence is at a high at the end of a history-making year during which he became the first Japanese man to win the world championships, held in Turin in March.

He qualified for the Beijing final by winning the season-opening Grand Prix NHK Trophy in front of his home fans in October and followed that up with victory at last month's Skate America.

His strongest challenge for the title is likely to come from Kozuka, who has the season's highest score of 170.43 points in the free skate and overall total of 248.07 points earned at last month's Trophee Bompard.

Kozuka, who ensured his Beijing spot with his win in Paris, signalled he has ample fuel left in his tank to go the distance this week.

"I feel I have trained solidly. I want to skate my heart out as I have done so far in the (Grand Prix) series," Kozuka, 21, told reporters at Tokyo's Narita airport Wednesday before leaving for Beijing.

Canada's 19-year-old rising star Patrick Chan, who took silver at the world championships, and 2008 European champion Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic are the other contenders for the men's title.

In the women's competition, former world champion Miki Ando of Japan and Italy's three-time European champion Carolina Kostner are the co-favorites in the absence of South Korea's golden girl Kim Yu-Na.

Kim, the winner in Vancouver, has decided to skip the Grand Prix series to focus on the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo, while reigning world champion Mao Asada of Japan failed to qualify for the Beijing event.

Ando is the top woman qualifier for Beijing, with two victories under her belt at the Cup of China and Cup of Russia events.

Her compatriot, rising young star Kanako Murakami, will be one to watch this week.

Just 16 years old, the reigning world junior champion has already dazzled in her senior Grand Prix debut with a victory at Skate America and a third-place finish at the NHK Trophy.

"My condition is improving in training and I want to go out there with confidence," she said before she left Nagoya for the Chinese capital on Tuesday.

Americans Alissa Czisny and Rachael Flatt, along with Akiko Suzuki of Japan, make up the field for the women's competition.

In the pairs skating, China's reigning world champion Pang Qing and Tong Jian will be challenged by Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany, who are seeking to re-assert themselves as a dominant force.

Olympic silver medallists Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the US are a firm bet for the ice dance title, with their main challenge for the gold medal likely to come from French duo Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat.