The SAG Awards nominations are arguably the most telling set of film nods of the awards season so far, with Boyhood and Birdman going up against each other yet again and cementing the widely held view that Linklater and Inarritu's movie will going up against each at the Oscars in February.

BirdmanMichael Keaton has a SAG nomination for his role in 'Birdman', which scored the most nods when the nominations were announced on Wednesday

It was Birdman, or Birdman: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, that scored the most nominations with four. Michael Keaton was nominated for best actor, while Ed Norton and Emma Stone earned nominations in supporting categories.

More: Boyhood and Birdman among AFI's best films of 2014

There was also acting nominations for Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Julianne Moore (Still Alice) and Reese Witherspoon (Wild). Interestingly, the winners of SAG's top four acting awards in 2014 - Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) and Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) - all went on to win the respective Academy Award.

BoyhoodBoyhood is the current favourite to win Best Picture at the Oscars, and duy bagged a SAG nomination on Wednesday

In the best motion picture category, Boyhood and Birdman will face competition from Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything. 

In the television categories, Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland and House of Cards were nominated for drama series, while The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Orange is the New Black and Veep will battle it out for the comedy prize. 

The SAG Awards will air live on the Jan. 25 at 5 pm on TBS and TNT from the Shrine Exposition Hall in Los Angeles.

More: Boyhood storms back into Oscars race after NY Film Critics success