Game of the Week

Deflators 24 M. Divers 13

This week we start with the game of the week in every sense between two play-off bound teams.
Deflators are the only unbeaten team in Thunder 1:1. Indeed they have beaten teams like Wild Thangs, LM Pirates, Inbhir Narann and Xu Da, all play-off hopefuls in their own right. In some of these games their opposition have been brushed aside with such ease it must have been embarrassing for their counterparts.
That said M. Divers are no slouches themselves but the victory against Die Verdammten remains the only victory carved out so far against a play-off likely team. This is not a criticism of The Divers, you can only beat the teams in your schedule but so far they have only met two teams that seem to be heading into the play-offs and they have lost half of them. Inbhir Narann beat them in the second week by 10 points. Certainly not a terrible defeat but a defeat nonetheless. Whether M. Divers can beat a team like Deflators is questionable. Not necessarily because of their results so far but purely because of the lack of high quality opposition so far.
It is quite possible that if these two teams meet next season it could well be in Elite. M. Divers have homefield advantage in this game, but Deflators have the proven quality, so for me it is close but Deflators must be favourite, just.

Bison City Nightcrew 7 Basterds 34

A battle between two teams fighting to regain pole position in their respective divisions is next.
Bison City Nightcrew (7-3) sit one win behind the Alligators and with a superior point difference. In theory at least this is one of two losable games in the run-in. But if they do miss out on the division they would be in a battle for the last wildcard place and after a good season, not qualifying for a play-off spot would be heart-breaking. Yet their consistency in beating teams is not great. They have had impressive wins against Budapest, Totoras and The SQUALES but these have been off-set by defeats to division rival Amersfoort Alligators (twice) and the unexpected loss to The Green Machine.
Basterds, on the other hand, have found a way of getting the win against all teams put in front of them with the exception of Inbhir Narann, a slightly disappointing home defeat but only by 6 points. The 34 point victory at Hucknall Broncos is probably the most telling, particularly as it remains The Broncos only defeat thus far. However the more telling result may just be the 35 point victory over Amersfoort Alligators, as I said earlier a team that BCN lost to twice.
Although both teams are doing well this season and find themselves in similar situations this game looks to me to be a mismatch with Basterds running out comfortable winners. The Nightcrew though should regroup and will continue to press for a play-off spot.

Hucknall Broncos 34 Wild Thangs 14

Hucknall Broncos @ Wild Thangs pits two divisional leaders against each other, but two teams in different situations.
Hucknall Broncos currently have a 9-1 record and sit on top of the weak NC West. If they can win this game they should finish 15-1 and would probably go into the playoffs as the number one seed in the NC. It is certainly true that an easy schedule which includes two games each against The Green Machine, Ramsey Raiders and Chesterton Cheese, somewhat flatters The Broncos. Yet wins over SimKonville Fraggles (pre bot), LM Pirates, Toledo Tigers and Die Verdammten put paid to any question of this teams ability, or the possibility of Elite league football come next season. In fact the only misstep so far this season remains the 34 point loss to Basterds, not only was this a bit of thrashing but The Broncos were at home.
Wild Thangs, on the other hand, can take nothing for granted. They currently lead the AC East but only have a one game lead over LM Pirates. They need to put a run together at some point to avoid the battle for the second wildcard spot. In short, they are by no means guaranteed a playoff place and don't have the easiest of run-ins either.
Hucknall Broncos enter this game as the stronger team, and I do expect them to have it wrapped up by half time. Wild Thangs could really do with a win here but losing won't make them panic, their season may well be defined by their final game.

LM Pirates 6 Inbhir Narann 31

LM Pirates @ Inbhir Narann pits together another two teams fighting from behind to win their divisions.
LM Pirates currently trail Wild Thangs by a win and they need to start getting results soon if they are to challenge for any type of playoff spot. Last week saw their first impressive win of the season as they narrowed the gap on Wild Thangs with a 42-21 home win over their divisional rivals. Other than that they have beaten the weaker teams and lost against the stronger teams - Inbhir Narann are certainly one of the stronger teams. The Pirates have a good run-in with some tricky games and some easier games. They certainly have a chance to challenge for the division and certainly the playoffs but won't be fancied to do much more than that.
Inbhir Narann on the other hand keep striding towards the playoffs and seem certain to get there one way or another. With three matches against unmanaged opposition their run in is not bad at all. Yet they will be chasing the undefeated Deflators for the AC West and can't afford any slip-ups. They'll need to win their next two games without losing focus if they are to eventually dethrone Deflators.
This is a game that Inbhir Narann should win without too much trouble but they would be well advised at the same time not to take LM Pirates too lightly. If they concentrate on one game at a time it'll be a new number in the wins column.

Toledo Tigers 21 Flow Gaming 27

Toledo Tigers lead the NC East but after a recent loss to Die Verdammten the division is going to be hard-fought down to the wire. With an upcoming game against Basterds to deal with, The Tigers need to get daylight between themselves and Die Verdammten to wrap up the division.
Flow Gaming find themselves with a lot of battles to face in the upcoming weeks. They are currently on top of the AC South but are in a three way struggle to win it outright. Both Xu Da and Ville Vikings trail by just the one win and Flow Gaming still have a game remaining against both teams. Add to those, games against Toledo Tigers and Severnside Cardinals and their lead looks more precarious.
A win for either team won't hand them divisional titles but a loss will make things a lot tougher. This should be a close game and I'll pick Flow Gaming if only for having homefield advantage.

Amersfoort Alligators w/o Dayton Tornados

Amersfoort are just about to start a run of three very winnable games. They will be hoping that they'll have opened up a gap between themselves and Bison City Nightcrew before the games against The SQUALES of Beach and M. Divers come around.

Die Verdammten 27 Xu Da 22

This is another game that pits teams currently sitting in the runner-ups spot in their division and trying to catch teams that are just a single win ahead of them. Both still have their destiny in their own hands but that may change after this game.
With a 7-3 record Die Verdammten look set to make the playoffs. With their run-in I make them favourites to win NC East. Toledo Tigers may have a lot to say about that both on and off the field but if Die Verdammten can manage a win today it would be their fourth win in a row and they would be expected to win their last five games (The Green Machine would probably be their toughest opposition.)
Xu Da are in a real fight to make the play-offs. A loss today could see the gap between themselves and Flow Gaming open up. They still have games against Flow Gaming and Ville Vikings and could win their last five games and still head into the play-offs as AC South champions but it will be a very tough accomplishment. The wildcard place seems an even tougher proposition with only one place realistically open and two other teams pushing for it with a one win lead already before this game.
Die Verdammten don't need to win this game to make the play-offs but do need to win it if they want to avoid playing in the wildcard spot. If Xu Da win this they'll probably make the play-offs, a defeat could cost them any sort of play-off place. Die Verdammten have really hit form recently where as Xu Da are coming off the back of two heavy defeats to quality opposition. It will be close but for me it's Die Verdammten as they chase for NC East.

Ville Vikings 12 Budapest Wolves 38

Ville Vikings @ Budapest Wolves features two teams that have both won four of their last five games to push their way back into the playoff picture.
Ville Vikings still have a lot to do and it must start with this game, they are currently battling Xu Da and current leaders Flow Gaming in the battle for The AC South. There recent wins have been against some of the weaker teams in the league though. This game is vital for The Vikings as although they would be expected to win the next two after that, their last three are all winnable but tough games and I can't help but think that they would need to be alone on top of the division going into the last three. To do that a win here is imperative but very hard.
Budapest Wolves were remorseless in their resurgence as they closed in to take the AC North. Now they need to hold to the division. Their last four games seem straight-forward, but the first two are trickier games. A win should secure the title. Having recently won three games in a row by over 40 points their single point win over The Cardinals may raise a question mark about their over all quality.
With Ville Vikings in my mind considerable underdogs, the win must go to The Wolves. For The Wolves to look like a promotion worthy team they need to win comfortably. I think they will.

Ramsey Raiders 3 The Green Machine 25

The Ramsey Raiders should have avoided automatic relegation already with three wins, two more would avoid the relegation game, one more may. The Raiders have not been impressive this season but did manage a win over PGI Andorre Solutions as well as two Bot teams. Their best chance of securing more wins are against Chesterton Cheese, and the two games against The Green Machine.
On recent form The Green Machines are starting to look impressive. Not necessarily a team that would be heading into the play-offs next season but certainly not one that would fear relegation. They have won five of their last six and although only one win (the 9-0 win over Bison City Nightcrew), was against a stronger team, they have done enough to suggest that they will distance themselves from the weaker teams in Thunder 1:1.
It seems to me that The Raiders will not be a match for The Green Machine and will be reliant on other results going their way to avoid the relegation game.

The SQUALES of Beach 24 Shropshire Swifts 6

The SQUALES are a mystery, having raced to a 6-0 record they now sit on 6-4. They've beaten teams such as Ville Vikings, Budapest Wolves, Flow Gaming and LM Pirates. Yet they've also lost to Jac Team. They still have a chance to enter the playoffs but will need to perform much better than they have in recent games.
So far Shropshire Swifts have only beaten PGI and that was only by 2 point. There aren't many more chances for them to avoid automatic relegation. On paper they should be doing better but time is against them.
On balance, there isn't a lot between these teams but The SQUALES should be able to win this match. The Swifts may decide that it is time to change something tactically as time is running out.

Parma Horses Severnside Cardinals w/o

Severnside Cardinals will be certain to avoid relegation after winning this game. They should still be able to avoid a losing season but nothing more.

Wolflings w/o SimKonville Fraggles

Like the Cardinals [above], Wolfing win here will see them avoid relegation. They may even finish the season with a winning record with a little luck.

Jac Team 13 UNTOUCHABLES 22

Jac Team need two more wins to be sure of avoiding any relegation worries. That seems unlikely as this is about as easy a game as they have left. They still have the impressive win over The SQUALES of Beach and UNTOUCHABLES don't seem to be as good as SQUALES.
UNTOUCHABLES need a win here to be certain of avoiding automatic relegation. There only two wins so far have been a 14 point win over Pittsburgh Steelers and a 40 point win over Shropshire Swifts. They have had a few near misses but don't have the easiest run-in. They need three more wins to be sure of avoiding any relegation worries, that goal seems beyond them, but gaining the one more win to avoid automatic relegation is within their grasp.
I expect an UNTOUCHABLE victory here as they seem to have the better squad and homefield advantage. Both teams will probably be involved in the relegation games at the end of the season and will be hoping for victories in those but it is unlikely that their opposition will be overly weak. Anyone wanting to get them an early Christmas present? May I suggest a prayer-mat each!

PGI Andorre Solutions 10 Steelers 24

PGI need four more wins to avoid any risk of relegation. One win may just give them enough to qualify for the relegation game. This is by far their best chance as after this game they've got Severnside Cardinals, Totoras Patriots, M. Divers, Bison City Nightcrew and then Totoras Patriots again. With none of those likely to end well for the almost ironically named Solutions they must channel everything they can into this game. They haven't been blessed with an easy division, and assuming they do get relegated and bounce back they may be hoping to avoid a return to the NC South.
Steelers on the other hand need just one more win to avoid the thought of relegation. This game, which is followed by a game against the Shropshire Swifts means that they should be safe sooner rather than later.
In short PGI are having a disastrous season and I can't see that changing, Steelers haven't set the world alight but do have the abilty to put away the weaker teams in the league and I believe they'll do it again.

Pittsburgh Steelers 32 Chesterton Cheese 13

Pittsburgh Steelers are the latest team that seems to be having a missing manager. steeler8643 has not been seen at their ground since October 24th and rumours abound that he may not be back. Although they only have two wins they did look likely to avoid the drop with this game against Chesterton and will face two manager-less teams in their final two games.
Chesterton Cheese may just win this game but they are more likely avoid relegation through their games against opposition without managers. Two of their wins so far have come against Bot opponents and they have one more left. They won't meet a Bot Pittsburgh Steelers so if they do win it will have to be done the old-fashioned way. There only other possible win is against the lacklustre Ramsey Raiders. Cheese still have potentially winnable games but few teams have been as toothless as Chesterton Cheese this season.
A Pittsburgh Steelers without any tactical changes may just be easy enough to scout and defeat yet I feel the player supremacy will still be too much for the hapless Chesterton Cheese.

Texas Tech 0 Totoras Patriots 3

The Tech will be easily defeated by The Patriots. Totoras have the players and managerial team to avoid a losing season, even now. For the Totoras Patriots this season must be about lessening the embarrassment factor as much as possible, as they build towards a challenge for next season in the notoriously difficult NC South.