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.
August Standings (with Previous Match)
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | First Goal Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | First Goal Time |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | olikchivas | 25 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | 2 | 8 | jacinto | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | 2 | 15 | forbrydelsen | 24 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | 2 | - | Rob R. Scott | 24 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | 5 | 7 | DougCuth | 23 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 6 | -5 | The Squirrel | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 7 | -5 | MarcusEarth | 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | 7 | 5 | Arjon | 21 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 7 | 5 | robbosg1 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 7 | 8 | Westsider13 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 7 | 13 | dfree646 | 21 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 12 | -10 | MarcoD77 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | 13 | -7 | edmondk | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | 13 | -2 | Jph003 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 15 | -13 | BlackPanther99 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 15 | -9 | AtlantisB | 18 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 15 | -9 | chuckbiscuits | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | 18 | -12 | rtomsheck | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 18 | -3 | GreyHouseEffect | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | 20 | -2 | tecate | 9 | 0 | ||||
| - | 21 | - | Joel Prosser | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Second Half Standings (Less 2 Worst Matches)
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | olikchivas | 47 |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | The Squirrel | 40 |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | MarcoD77 | 40 |
| 12 | 2 | 10 | forbrydelsen | 40 |
| 4 | 5 | -1 | MarcusEarth | 39 |
| 4 | 6 | -2 | BlackPanther99 | 37 |
| 4 | 6 | -2 | AtlantisB | 37 |
| 4 | 6 | -2 | edmondk | 37 |
| 4 | 6 | -2 | chuckbiscuits | 37 |
| 4 | 10 | -6 | rtomsheck | 36 |
| 4 | 10 | -6 | jacinto | 36 |
| 13 | 12 | 1 | Jph003 | 35 |
| 15 | 12 | 3 | Arjon | 35 |
| 15 | 12 | 3 | DougCuth | 35 |
| 13 | 15 | -2 | robbosg1 | 34 |
| 18 | 15 | 3 | Westsider13 | 34 |
| 15 | 17 | -2 | GreyHouseEffect | 32 |
| 20 | 18 | 2 | dfree646 | 30 |
| 4 | 19 | -15 | justcaps | 27 |
| 21 | 20 | 1 | Rob R. Scott | 24 |
| 19 | 21 | -2 | tecate | 21 |
| - | 22 | - | Joel Prosser | 7 |
Match in Review (New England Revolution) and Preview (Houston Dynamo)
The good news is clearly Carl Robinson wants to keep our contest challenging, as he continues to rotate his Starting XI. So much so that even the givens are not given anymore as newcomer Joel Prosser found out “Ousted (thats a given, right?)”. Apparently not!
In addition to the lineup changes, many of us were far too positive about the Vancouver Whitecaps chances as only olikchivas, forbrydelsen, DougCuth, Arjon, and Westsider13 correctly chose a New England victory. Unfortunately, my new monthly contest of guess when the Caps will score their first goal of the match was a failure as well, as the club did not score. Hopefully we can change that this weekend.
Speaking of this weekend, the Houston Dynamo come to town. Houston is first in the West but are 1-7-4 on the road. Yeah, figure that one out! This seems like it should be a win for the Caps, but you never know these days. As forbrydelsen noted in their prediction last match “Caps are so unpredictable, score could be absolutely anything”. With Matias Laba going down for the season, and a visit from Cascadia rival Seattle on Wednesday, we could see some different lineup choices again. One lineup change we know will not occur is the debut of Aly Ghazal. Why? Because he told us himself!
Sadly not this weekend but soon!
— Aly Ghazal (@AlyGhazal) August 17, 2017
Outside of that (and Laba), it is anyone’s guess. I feel that Saturday’s match will tell us a lot about Wednesday’s match. And, for that ‘given’, does David Ousted start both matches or does Marinovic make his home debut in either match?
A reminder that in August we are adding a sub-contest: Guess when the Caps will score their first goal of a match. Get the correct 15-minute interval, receive 2 points. 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, or 76-90.
As usual, GOOD LUCK!
Known Out (will be updated as information becomes available)
Injured: Brett Levis, David Edgar, Matias Laba
Suspension: None