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.
September Standings (with Previous Match Results)
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | Interval Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | Interval Score |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | dfree646 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 2 | -1 | DougCuth | 14 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | rtomsheck | 13 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | robbosg1 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | jacinto | 15 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | 6 | 1 | The Squirrel | 16 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | 7 | 1 | olikchivas | 17 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | 8 | 2 | Arjon | 17 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | 9 | -3 | AtlantisB | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 9 | -1 | BlackPanther99 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | -1 | chuckbiscuits | 15 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 12 | -2 | Jph003 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | 12 | 3 | GreyHouseEffect | 15 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | 14 | -4 | forbrydelsen | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | 15 | -5 | Rob R. Scott | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | 16 | 0 | MarcoD77 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 17 | 0 | Westsider13 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | 18 | 0 | edmondk | 14 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| - | - | - | Slowkid | 14 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| - | - | - | Joel Prosser | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Second Half Standings
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous Rank | Current Ranking | Change in Ranking | User | Overall Score |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | dfree646 | 142 |
| 1 | 2 | -1 | olikchivas | 140 |
| 2 | 3 | -1 | chuckbiscuits | 135 |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | jacinto | 135 |
| 5 | 5 | 0 | BlackPanther99 | 132 |
| 10 | 6 | 4 | Arjon | 131 |
| 6 | 7 | -1 | AtlantisB | 130 |
| 7 | 7 | 0 | The Squirrel | 130 |
| 7 | 7 | 0 | DougCuth | 130 |
| 9 | 10 | -1 | robbosg1 | 128 |
| 12 | 11 | 1 | GreyHouseEffect | 127 |
| 10 | 12 | -2 | rtomsheck | 125 |
| 13 | 13 | 0 | forbrydelsen | 117 |
| 14 | 14 | 0 | Westsider13 | 114 |
| 15 | 14 | 1 | edmondk | 114 |
| 17 | 16 | 1 | Jph003 | 112 |
| 16 | 17 | -1 | MarcoD77 | 109 |
| 17 | 18 | -1 | Rob R. Scott | 106 |
| 19 | 19 | 0 | MarcusEarth | 82 |
| 20 | 20 | 0 | justcaps | 27 |
| 20 | 20 | 0 | tecate | 27 |
| 22 | 22 | 0 | Joel Prosser | 14 |
| - | 22 | - | Slowkid | 14 |
Match in Review (Colorado Rapids) and Preview (Seattle Sounders)
Well, that was an interesting match. Most of us predicted a Vancouver Whitecaps victory, which happened, so that is good. However, lineup predictions were all over the place with the lowest being 5 and the highest being 11 (more on that shortly). Why did we all think that Tony Tchani was going to sit this match? Not sure, but many of us had that. The rest of the differences were speculations about keeper, right back, Waston fill-in, d-mid pairing, and striker. Going potentially against the grain, Carl Robinson started, mostly, an ‘A’ lineup. While many of us were making speculative predictions, dfree646 went with tradition (field the best 11 available) and it paid off! They scored a PERFECT WEEK (less interval score). That 22 points vaulted them to first in the September standings (5 points ahead of DougCuth now), and pushed them to the top of the Second Half Standings. I said before the Colorado match that while olikchivas and chuckbiscuits had been controlling those top two spots of late, one good match from someone below could change it up. Sure enough, that is what happened. Congrats dfree646. Now, can you keep the spot. We have two matches left in the September contest and 5 matches overall. Should come down to the wire!
On Wednesday, the Caps travel to Seattle to face the Sounders. It will be an interesting match that is for sure. Vancouver still has matches against the three teams chasing them in the West, so this match will be important if the Caps want a first round bye in the playoffs. I expect a strong lineup, but you also have to think ahead to that SKC match. IMO, if either team wins that match on Saturday, they will be the West champions.
No one will be missing Seattle’s match due to card accumulation, while Bolanos is still questionable. Get your predictions in. GOOD LUCK!
Known Out (will be updated as information becomes available)
Injured: Brett Levis, David Edgar, Matias Laba
Questionable: Christian Bolanos
Suspension: None