Guess the Starting XI - Match 12 vs. Charlotte FC

Welcome back everyone.

The Vancouver Whitecaps’ flurry of busy match-weeks continues on Sunday as they will be in Charlotte for a fixture with first-year MLS side Charlotte FC. So far this year, the newcomers have 13 points from 12 matches and therefore are on very comparable pace with the Whitecaps, who are also firmly in the 1.0ppg territory. In terms of recent form, it’s been a mixed bag as Charlotte is 1-1-2 in their last four, most recently losing at home to CF Montreal by a score of 2-0.

For Vancouver, you have to imagine that Ryan Gauld will have cleared protocols in time for this match, and I’ll keep his status updated here. Erik Godoy and Florian Jungwirth should also be well rested after the match off against FC Dallas midweek. Where Vanni Sartini decides to go with the back line tactically is very much a question though, as it’s swapped back and forth between a back three and back four the last couple of matches. Finally, is there a chance that Russell Teibert is ousted from the starting XI at last? After an impressive substitute showing, I wonder if Leo Owusu may have earned himself a start on the road this weekend.

Since writing this up initially, the Whitecaps had more COVID news on Friday and now the Goalkeeping position in particular is an absolute mess (no Cropper, no Boehmer). Jake Nerwinski is also out for this weekend’s contest as well as Pedro Vite. Also, since I’ve only just remembered myself, I’ll remind you Lucas Cavallini is suspended for this one.

Ok, on to rules and standings:

• Predictions will be ‘valid’ if posted HERE (or more accurately, whichever is the correct match thread) before the lineup is officially announced, usually about an hour before kickoff.
• You receive 1 point for every player you correctly guess to be in the Starting XI. You receive 4 bonus points for correctly predicting all 11 starters.
• You get 5 points for correctly guessing Win/Lose/Draw, this doubles to 10 if you also predict the right score-line along with the result.
• All this means, if you correctly predict the Starting XI, Final Score, and Winner, you can earn 25 points!
• At the end of each half, the contestant’s lowest two scores of that period will be deducted from the cumulative standings.