Nasujak: Guess the Starting XI - Match Ten vs. Seattle

Welcome back everyone.

Note: this article was cued to post earlier today but something went wrong on my end. Sincerest apologies, and I’ll look to find a fair way to deal with this match. Thanks!

The Vancouver Whitecaps are currently sitting on their worst run of form (tied for worst at least) in MLS franchise history, so I hope that you’re predictions have felt more successful than the team’s results!

Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, this weekend involves a trip north to Seattle in order to face the league leading (and currently undefeated) Sounders, yikes!

While the first thing that probably comes to mind in Seattle is the scoring prowess of Raul Ruidiaz, or the consummate midfield play of Joao Paulo, Seattle has quietly been one of the most effective and efficient defensive teams in MLS so far. I probably don’t need to tell you that this isn’t good news for Vancouver. Given their current struggles, and the fact that this will be their third match within the week, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is another match where the Whitecaps bunker and hope to create something off of set pieces.

Squad rotation is always a question amidst a busy schedule, so players like Caio Alexandre, Deiber Caicedo and Jake Nerwisnki can likely be expected to feature prominently on Saturday. The formation of choice also remains a question, and we’ll have to see if Marc Dos Santos is willing to try the striker partnership of White and Cavallini again after they sputtered midweek. Defensively, I can’t see MDS going away from Rose and Godoy at centreback, but it could all hinge on their fitness levels.

Without further ado, here are the rules and standings to date:

Predictions will be ‘valid’ if posted HERE (or more accurately, the correct match thread) prior to the lineup being 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.
That means, if you correctly predict the Starting XI, Final Score, and Winner, you can earn 25 points!
At the end of each quarter, the contestants lowest score of that period will be deducted from the cumulative standings.