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.
- The first/second Half standings will exclude your worst two match guesses.
- 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 (Portland Timbers) and Preview (FC Dallas)
Yikes! I am not sure what else to say about that match against Portland. Forbrydelsen forgot to input a pick against LA Galaxy, so they went for it against Portland, predicting a Vancouver Whitecaps loss. That risk paid off as they were the only one to correctly predict the winner and a match leading 16 points. Carl Robinson went with the same lineup as last match and that resulted in plenty of bonus points for participants. However, many of us felt that Jordy Reyna would get the start over Nicolas Mezquida. Oops.
Vancouver now travels down to Dallas, where they have not had any success in the past. Despite that, I wouldn’t be surprised if they shocked Dallas and came away with a victory or draw. Why? Because that seems to be the way the season is going isn’t it! It will be a tough challenge, as Dallas has only lost once this season at home (with three draws).
In interviews this week, Robbo suggested Reyna could see his first start, while the status of Alphonso Davies and Kendall Waston are unclear. Davies was clearly exhausted in his last match for Canada, and didn’t look great against Portland. A bit of rest might be enough and he could see a start down in Dallas, or come off the bench. As for Waston, he remained back in Costa Rica to deal with something after the Gold Cup, so his status is questionable. It is quite possible that he meets up with the squad in Dallas, or joins them after. We might have to make the determination at the last minute.
Should be an interesting one to predict as a Caps victory is improbable and thus likely, while there are several lineup questions. Good luck!