Guess the Starting XI & Final Score 2019 (MLS Match #31 - Houston Dynamo

Welcome to another season of our Vancouver Whitecaps contest “Guess the Starting XI and Final Score”. As is tradition, thanks to former regular Spencer for starting this several years ago. It has grown into a great contest and I am appreciative of him for the original idea. Like last season, we will break the contest up into the three ‘seasons’: first half, second half, and non-MLS. We will continue to have fun monthly ‘bonus’ prediction categories, with some being based on whatever it topical at the time. Last season we had things like “Robbo post-match quotes”, “yellow cards”, “first goal scorer”, and several others. However, to start the season, we will keep March simple. With that out of the way, let’s remind you all how the scoring is done.

Contest article will be posted 2-3 days prior to game day.

• We will keep track of first half, 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, each half of the season will be based on 17 matches, with your worst two match predictions being dropped. This will allow everyone a few misses or bad guesses throughout the season.
• Predictions will be ‘valid’ if posted HERE half-an-hour 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!

After each match, I will tally the scores and update the standings, which will be posted with the following match’s prediction article. I will post three sets of standings. First, the results from the previous match. Second, the monthly standings. Third, the first/second half standings (with your worst two match predictions removed).

Match Review and Preview (Tres_Tristes_Tigres & AtlantisB)

The match between the Caps and NYCFC wasn’t very competitive, however the same can’t be said about this week’s prediction rankings! Nearly half of the field was within a point of first place this week, including a four way tie for first with 17 points. Just as with the Montreal game, lost points from squad rotation and injury were compensated for by correct loss and score line predictions. This time around, three quarters (!) predicted the loss, with over a third predicting the final score line of 3-1.

There were no lineup bonuses for the match as squad rotation once again stole some points. The most frequent error was to put Cornelius or Godoy at CB instead of Rose, a decision that MDS said was due to the former pair having injuries. The front three also caused headaches as people struggled to get the correct combination of attacking players.

August ends with Tres_Tristes_Tigres picking up the final bonus category points for their prediction that Hwang would receive the first Caps card for the match.

Speaking of the end of August, we have a winner for the month. With such tight scores from this match we didn’t see the potential big change at the top that might have been. Instead, Isabelt was able to hold on to the title and win with 95 points. Congrats! They join our other monthly winners

• March: AmandaC, CascadiaCrunchFC, tecate, & Westsider13 (53 Points)
• April: CapsOnTheDrive (65 Points)
• May: IslandLife (113 Points)
• July: Westsider13 (97 Points)
• August: Isabelt (95 Points)

We only have four matches left in the season and Isabelt is leading the Second Half standings with 159 points. They have opened up a bit of a lead over Westsider13 (155) and GreyHouseEffect (153), but an unexpected win prediction for the Whitecaps could quickly turn those standings around. Also, don’t count out CascadiaCrunchFC (146) and edmondk (146), or anyone else behind them, from catching the leaders.

We are in September now, so that means a new bonus category. I asked you to come up with some ideas and you didn’t disappoint. I really liked the ‘style’ of the first goal, possession, half-time score, shots, # of Canadians, MotM, and even fun ones like Henry Own Goals! While I can only use one this month I will keep the others in my file to potentially use next season. For this month I think I am going to go with possession percentage. You don’t have to get it exact, so we will go with the proposed +/-3% spread. If you predict 45% and it falls somewhere between 42% and 48% then you get the bonus ‘3’ points towards your September/October score.

I could preview this match, but I feel this has been long enough. Read over our Know the Enemy and Match Preview to get the latest on Saturday’s match. Let’s get those scores predicted!