When you thought it was all over, we’re back for more! As it goes, the Indian Super Cup qualifiers are being played this week which means we’ve got as many games as we had in the earlier rounds of the prediction league. We only had the three games last week, so we jazzed up a little and added bonus points for certain things, we’ll go through that shortly, first, let’s look at how we got on with only a trio of games to get stuck into.
Right, green is good. Bold and green is excellent. Green is worth one point, bold and green is worth five, so as you can see Chris comfortably had the best round out of all of us. As discussed, though, we added a couple of extra wildcards into this round due to the lack of games.
If the minute of the first goal was correctly guessed, that would have been worth fifteen points and the first goalscorer was worth five. Thankfully, nobody got the correct minute because it would have been a nightmare doing a table for them, so we’ve swerved that. In complete contrast, there were some success stories from the first goalscorer points on offer…
Chris is pulling some unbelievable form out of the bag right when it matters most. A Coro goal in the Goa game would’ve made it a better feeling while writing this, nevertheless Chris has done brilliantly with his haul of seventeen points. Steve and I have had week’s to forget as has Mark to be fair, at least he got Chhetri right, mind.
With all of this going on, it’s time to take a look at the league standings to see who has moved where, although considering Chris was already sitting at the top of the table, I don’t think there’s going to be much of a shock to who’s top now…
Name |
Points |
Correct Scores |
Chris Darwen |
55 |
6 |
Jake Flock |
35 |
4 |
Mark Smith |
31 |
2 |
Stephen Beavon |
29 |
3 |
I tell you what, considering Chris struggled in the first couple of weeks, for him to be twenty points clear is an incredible achievement, so I doth my cap. That may seem rather gracious and genuine, however, deep down I am trying to think of reasonable grounds for a point deduction. It may well end up with the ombudsman.
We’ve got a real mixed bag this week as we’ve got a playoff semi-final, an AFC Cup game and four Super Cup qualifiers. The only thing missing seems to be a partridge in a pear tree. No special points on offer this week because the volume of games is back to where it should be, here are all the games that matter:
Chennaiyin FC vs FC Goa (13/03) | Bengaluru FC vs Abahani Dhaka (14/03) | Delhi Dynamos vs Churchill Brothers (15/03) | NorthEast United vs Gokulam (15/03) | ATK vs Chennai City (16/03) | Mumbai City vs Indian Arrows (16/03)
And this is what we think will happen…
Playoff Semi Final Second Leg (1-1) | Chennaiyin FC | | FC Goa
Predictions – CD: 1-1, JF: 2-2, MS: 1-2, SB: 1-2.
Verdict: Everyone thinks that Goa will qualify, asides from Chris who says the game will be going to extra time. The panel is split 50/50 between a score draw and an away win.
AFC Cup Group Game | Bengaluru FC | | Abahani Dhaka
Predictions – CD: 3-0, JF: 5-0, MS: 3-1, SB: 2-0.
Verdict: A resounding home win. Bengaluru cruised through the qualifiers and it’s thought they’ll have little trouble against the Bangladeshi champions.
Indian Super Cup Qualifier | Delhi Dynamos | | Churchill Brothers
Predictions – CD: 3-1, JF: 2-1, MS: 3-0, SB: 2-0.
Verdict: Another home win. We’re a little at a loss on these Cup games as our knowledge of the I-League isn’t great and considering we don’t know the squads as of yet, it’s a bit of a nightmare. If Uche plays, he scores, though.
Indian Super Cup Qualifier | NorthEast United | | Gokulam
Predictions – CD: 2-1, JF: 0-1, MS: 1-1, SB: 1-2.
Verdict: Majority goes for an away win. Gokulam only ended up in the qualifiers after the results on the final day of the I-League, so they should be the strongest of the I-League teams by virtue of league position. NorthEast have been poor for a while and it’s hard to see anything but an away win here.
Indian Super Cup Qualifier | ATK | | Chennai City
Predictions – CD: 2-0, JF: 1-1, MS: 2-1, SB: 1-0.
Verdict: 75% gone for the home win. Robbie Keane’s managerial career got off to a winning start and he’ll be hoping for more of the same this time around.
Indian Super Cup Qualifier | Mumbai City | | Indian Arrows
Predictions – CD: 3-1, JF: 2-1, MS: 4-1, SB: 3-1.
Verdict: Unanimous home win verdict. Indian Arrows finished bottom of the I-League and if Mumbai play to the best of their ability they’ll wipe the floor with them. The problem is, they blow hot and cold so it’s a coin toss as to whether they will win or not.
You’ll notice I haven’t included the playoff final in this and for good reason. We’ll have a special edition of the prediction league on Saturday morning which will probably be the last one of this season. If I’m still losing after it, then you may find it carries on for the Super Cup as well…
Until the next time.
