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.
Match 20 (FC Dallas)
| 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 | 39 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 2 | 8 | BlackPanther99 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | 3 | 8 | rtomsheck | 36 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | -2 | AtlantisB | 35 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | -2 | edmondk | 35 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | -2 | The Squirrel | 35 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | -2 | chuckbiscuits | 35 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | -2 | MarcusEarth | 35 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 9 | -7 | MarcoD77 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 10 | -1 | Jph003 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 11 | 0 | Arjon | 31 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 12 | -1 | GreyHouseEffect | 29 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 12 | 2 | Westsider13 | 29 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 12 | 3 | DougCuth | 29 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 15 | 1 | jacinto | 28 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 16 | -14 | justcaps | 27 | ||||
| 16 | 17 | -1 | robbosg1 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | 18 | 0 | forbrydelsen | 24 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 19 | 0 | tecate | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 20 | 0 | dfree646 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Match in Review (FC Dallas) and Preview (Colorado Rapids)
The bad news is that (almost) everyone had really terrible scores (including a few 6’s). The good news is that your worst two matches are removed from your final standings. The GREAT news is that the Vancouver Whitecaps went to Dallas and came away with three points. Who saw that coming? Apparently BlackPanther99 and rtomsheck, who both received the ‘5’ points for correctly predicting the Caps as victorious. BlackPanther99 was also the only one to predict a Williams start, while rtomsheck was along in the de Jong prediction. Clearly these two cheated! The rest of us? Not so lucky. Although, shout-out to Olikchivas, who changed their lineup 3, 4, 5 times, but came away with the best prediction score of ‘9’. I am sure we are all fine with a low score though in place of a Caps 4-0 victory over Dallas.
On to Colorado. I conducted an interview on SiriusXM this morning and they asked me about the Caps chances in the upcoming match. I told them I had no idea. I feel these previews are almost useless as I just take a dart and throw it at the wall. Will the Caps win or lose badly? Your guess is as good as mine. Recent history dictates no, as they have gone D-D-L-W-L-W. Good luck with that one!
As for who will start? I think we see a return to the regulars, although with all the healthy bodies, it is unclear who the regulars are. Is Bolanos okay? Has Davies recovered? Is Ibini a starter? With Waston back, and Reyna playing well, does Jacobson return to the bench, or does he switch in and out with Tchani? Mezquida has done well in his last two games. Does that earn him a start? Hmmm, maybe this isn’t as clear as I thought. Well, good luck with this one too!
Known Out (will be updated as information becomes available)
Injured: Brett Levis, David Edgar
Suspension: None