A look at D1 Predictions

[RashfordU]

Now that the deadline has past and we've witnessed Matchday 1 for both divisions,
it is time to take a look at how the league made their predictions.
I also wanted to create a topic that people could respond to if they wanted to reply for their PT this week (simply respond to the article with 200 words to complete your PT this week).

Division 1: Total of 95 Responses

Title Contenders
Hollywood - 1.9 AVG Prediction (Most chosen: 2nd Place [40 times], 1st Place [39 Times])
Tokyo - 2.1 AVG Prediction (Most chosen: 1st Place [44 times], 2nd Place [35 Times])

The league clearly had their favorites, with both teams topping the charts on nearly ever users predictions. Last season it came down the final matchday, but can both teams do enough this season to separate themselves from the rest

The Mid Pack
Buenos Aires - 4.5 AVG Prediction (Most chosen: 3rd Place [25 times], 4th Place [21 Times])
Sao Paulo - 4.6 AVG Prediction (Most chosen: 4th Place [34 times], 3rd Place [18 times])
Reykjavik - 5.0 AVG Prediction (Joint most chosen: 3rd/5th Place [21 Times])
Catalunya - 5.1 AVG Prediction (Most chosen: 6th Place [32 Times])
Romana - 6.1 AVG Prediction (Most chosen: 7th Place [35 Times])

Before the season began, you could probably have put any of these teams in any order and no one would have really doubted you. Newcomers Rome and Reykjavik showed last season they could hang with pretty much anyone, with consistent seasons throughout. D1 Mainstays Buenos Aires, Catalunya, and Sao Paulo all chose to heavily invest in their clubs over the past month or so to keep themselves relevant and looking to jump into the contender conversations over the coming season.

The Rebuilder
Athenai - 6.7 AVG Prediction [Most chosen: 8th Place [58 times])

If this was a ranking of draft assets and potential, Athenai would be much higher. But it appears the writing was on the wall over the off-season as the team moved out many of their long-time players as the team look to head in a new direction. Though, I wouldn't take this team lightly in S10, Athenai has long been known to derail a team's title aspirations and has always been known to handle a defensive gem on many occassions.

Out of all SSL Season's to date, this season is shaping up to be the tightest on record. The League now boasts 6 Division 1 teams that average north of 1200 tpe in their starting eleven. Between Catalunya (5th highest XI TPE: 1,318) and Tokyo (Highest XI TPE: 1,458) we now only see a gap of 140 TPE, a far cry from a few seasons ago when there was a clear top 1 or 2 teams based on player talent. Should be an exciting season ahead of us.