I think Nolte will win an Oscar this time around. He was amazing in Warrior.
I've noticed people raving about Casey Affleck in Assassination of Jesse James, and rightly so. But I still think Pitt gave the better performance in that film. Only by a tiny margin though. Rockwell and Renner were also awesome. Pitt will probably get at least a nom for Moneyball from what i've heard/read.
Oldman could get his long awaited win for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
Another couple I want to throw in there are Woody Harrelson and Guy Pearce. Harrelson should have been nominated for Natural Born Killers. That was just a mesmerizing performance. He should have won an Oscar by now. Guy Pearce should have got noms for LA Confidential and Memento.
And i know he's already got a win, but the hell did Cage not win another one for Adaptation? That was a better performance than his one in Leaving Las Vegas.