Rose City Forecast 33: Portland Timbers vs Real Salt Lake

Welcome to our 33rd forecast of 2018!

It’s been a couple weeks since our Portland Timbers have played, but I hope you haven’t forgotten that last match. The Timbers walked into Utah and handed Real Salt Lake just their second home loss of 2018 with a convincing score of 4-1. Jeremy Ebobisse started and scored again, Sebastian Blanco scored a three-minute brace, and Lucas Melano got his first goal for the Timbers in 2018. Jefferson Savarino had the lone goal for RSL, and when he scored it in the 55th minute, it tied the game, but the Timbers responded well when they added their three goals after the 70th minute for the final score.

STYLES34 took the prediction of the week, calling a Timbers win as well as Blanco’s goal assisted by Diego Valeri and the first yellow card going to one Diego Chara. The bonus prediction points go to lefthanded 49 for suggesting that PTFC would score while Nick Rimando was taking a coffee break, and for how effective he was that night, Rimando might as well have been on that coffee break. He let as many shots go into the net as he managed to save!

A perfect prediction would have taken 25 points this week:

4-1

Ebobisse (Blanco); Blanco (no assist); Blanco (Ebobisse OR Valeri); Melano (no assist)

Savarino (Plata)

First yellow to Chara

Over on total cards

MofoOG has created a little separation at the top of the standings, but it remains close!

This Sunday, the Timbers play Real Salt Lake for the second game in a row. This time, the match is in Portland, though, and RSL just played on Thursday, while the Timbers have had a full two week break. This is also Salt Lake’s last game of the regular season, and in order to clinch a playoff spot, they have to win. They’re going to be desperate. PTFC can clinch with a win or draw, and since they play in Vancouver next weekend, they could still make the playoffs with a loss. Though to be at home in the knockout game, the team has to win. So the stakes are pretty high for both teams. Who’s going to get the result they need?

Total Cards O/U: 5.5

The Scoring Format:

• Correct score: 5 points
• Correct result (draw/win/loss): 3 points
• Each clean sheet: 2 points
• Each goal-scorer: 1 point
• Each FK/PK/assist/lack of assist: 1 point
• Goal/assist bonus: 1 point
• Player with the first yellow card of the match: 1 point
• Each player with a red card: 1 point (Cannot earn points for predicting 0 red cards, but you may predict up to 3 players with a red.)
• Over/under on total cards: 1 point
• Most outrageous(ly accurate) prediction: 2 points

Some ground rules and explanations/clarifications (the fine print):

You may amend your prediction at any point up to kickoff to account for game day 18 announcements. I recommend at least getting an initial prediction sooner, just in case you forget to come back in that hour or two before the game.

Keep your scoreline predictions realistic. Basically, if you’re predicting lots of goals all the time to just earn points on goals and assists and ignoring the score, I feel that goes against the spirit of this thread. This hasn’t been at all a problem in the last two years, so let’s keep it that way!

The goal/assist bonus is an additional point if you correctly get the correct scorer and assistant on the same goal. (For example, if Nagbe scores, assisted by Valeri, and you predicted that exact combination, you get a total of three points: 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 bonus. However, if you predicted Nagbe scores, assisted by Adi, and Adi scores, assisted by Valeri, you would get two points from the Nagbe/Valeri prediction: 1 goal, 1 assist.)

Please be clear whether you think a goal will be unassisted, assisted, or from a PK/FK: Unassisted = no assist, run of play; Assisted = player who got the assist; PK/FK = directly from a free kick. For the purposes of this thread, a PK counts as an FK, and an FK as a PK. If you just leave the assist section blank, I will assume you’re declining to make an assist prediction.

Even though a player can be awarded a secondary assist by OPTA, I will award a maximum of one assist point per goal. But that point can come from either the primary or secondary assist in the box score. However, please keep your predictions to one assist per goal.

For the over/under on cards, a second yellow leading to a red counts as two cards, not three.

You may predict more than one red card if you’re expecting a chippy match, but only up to three total.

For the most outrageous(ly accurate) prediction, I will be trying to toe a line between completely absurd and mundane in my choices. As I see it, the goal here is to add even more fun without going too over-the-top ridiculous. So, in my mind, the best predictions will be something that could conceivably happen, but don’t happen often, like amusing coaching spats or goals that bounce off the crossbar, then off the keeper’s back, and then in. Things like that.

If you’re looking for where I set the over/under on total cards, check the end of the preview paragraph after the standings.

Format:

In the comment title, post your predicted score with the winners; for example, 4-2 Timbers

In the body of your comment, start with the goals and assists, like so:

Nagbe (Valeri)

Valeri (Free kick)

Adi (PK)

Blanco (Unassisted)

Beckham (Free kick)

Donovan (Beckham)

Next, choose your first yellow card, and that means picking only one person:

First yellow to Nigel De Jong

Then reds, if any. (NOTE: No points awarded for correctly calling a red-card-free match, so take a guess.):

Nigel De Jong gets a red card for stomping Blanco.

Clearly note whether you’re predicting over or under on total cards. Don’t leave me to try and figure it out!

And lastly, make your fun prediction:

Nigel de Jong tries to stomp Nagbe’s ankle again, but this time, Nagbe avoids the tackle. Being angry, Nagbe, for the first time in three years, kicks the ball straight into NDJ’s groin. Camera pans to a trademark Chara smile.