Welcome back for another season of our contest "Guess the Starting XI and Final Score". As always, thanks to former regular Spencer for starting this several years ago. Like last season, we will keep the non-MLS and MLS standings separate. We will also do a first half, second half, and overall standings. Finally, I will have various monthly contests where we add in an ‘extra’ thing to predict, like goal scorers, cards, suspensions, etc. With the basics out of the way, let’s get to the scoring.
MLS Scoring Details
- Contest article will be posted 2-3 days prior to game day
- We will keep track of overall, first/second half, and monthly winners so that late joiners will have something to play for
- I will have a separate ‘contest’ for Voyageurs and Champions League.
- As the MLS season is 34 matches, the overall standings will be based on each participant’s top 30 match guesses. This will allow everyone a few misses or bad guesses throughout the season.
- Predictions will be 'valid' if posted prior to the lineup being officially announced (1 hour before kickoff)
How Scoring is Determined
- You receive 1 point for every player you correctly guess to be in the Starting XI. Receive 1 bonus point for correctly predicting 10 starters. Receive 3 bonus points for correctly predicting 11 starters.
- You get 5 points for correctly guessing Win/Lose/Draw.
- You receive 1 point for correctly guessing each team’s final score. Receive 1 bonus point for correctly guessing both teams final score (for a total of 3).
- That means, if you correctly predict the Starting XI, Final Score, and Winner, you can earn 22 points!
At the end of each week, I will tally the scores and update the standings, to be posted with the next week's match thread.
OVERALL STANDINGS
Match 19 (Portland Timbers)
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in | User | Overall Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in | User | Overall Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score |
| Ranking | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | olikchivas | 30 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | -1 | AtlantisB | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | -1 | edmondk | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | -1 | MarcoD77 | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | -1 | The Squirrel | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | -1 | chuckbiscuits | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | -1 | justcaps | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 2 | 9 | MarcusEarth | 27 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 9 | -1 | Jph003 | 25 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 10 | -2 | BlackPanther99 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 11 | -3 | rtomsheck | 23 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 11 | 1 | Arjon | 23 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 11 | 1 | GreyHouseEffect | 23 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 14 | 1 | Westsider13 | 22 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | 15 | 1 | DougCuth | 21 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | 16 | 0 | jacinto | 20 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 16 | 0 | robbosg1 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 18 | 1 | forbrydelsen | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | 19 | -7 | tecate | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Match in Review (LA Galaxy) and Preview (Portland Timbers)
The Vancouver Whitecaps continued LA’s terrible home record this season by coming away with a 1-0 victory. Eleven participants predicted a Caps victory and thus got out to a strong start for the second half, with seven tying for the early lead with 16 points. The key misstep was everyone (including myself) predicting that Reyna would start. Instead, Robbo threw a curve ball and started Mezquida.
Vancouver now faces Cascadia rival Portland Timbers on Sunday afternoon. The match will be on short-rest, but not the typical Wed/Sat schedule. In addition, it will be a home match against a rival, in a very winnable match. As a result, I suspect Robbo to throw out as strong of a lineup as possible.
Unfortunately, Canada lost out to Jamaica Thursday, so Davies, Teibert, de Jong, and Adekugbe will be available for selection, however, I would expect them to come of the bench at most. Then again, maybe Adekugbe gets his first start of the season?
While the Whitecaps will see their Gold Cup attendees, less Kendall Waston, return, Portland will be without many of their players. With two red cards on Wednesday, including to Adi, Portland has 14 players available for selection. I suspect a few Timbers 2 players to be on the bench. This means that the Caps have a great opportunity to get the win. The question is whether they will rise to the occasion or play down to their opponent.
Time for you to make the prediction.
KNOWN OUT (Will be updated as information becomes available)
Injury: Brett Levis, David Edgar
International Duty: Kendall Waston