Season 26/27 - The Scoring and the Rules

The Essential Details

This blog post won't provide flowery explanations about how the various competitions work. Instead, it focuses on the key details regarding points and rules.

It's a reminder of how everything operates, and you might find it worth your time to read through, although in truth, I’ve mainly put it in a document to remind me of what was going on in my head when I built this 😳🙄.

So here goes.

1. The competition consists of two parts: The GuessWork and The Picks.

2. For The Picks, you must make selections for League Team, Cup Team, and Player Picks before the matches begin.

3. In The GuessWork, you will need to submit predictions for 14 games every round.

4. There will be 38 Rounds, one for each of the Premier League rounds

5. The additional games will be made up from Championship and key games in the top European leagues

6. Deadlines will be set for submitting your GuessWork. Once all submissions are in, they will ALL be displayed on the website before and a copy of your own predictions will be posted on your personal Who’s Who page

   
   

   Notifications and Deadlines

   
   

7. Your GuessWork will automatically enter you into Cup Competitions, requiring no additional actions from yourself

8. You can request an emailed copy of your GuessWork upon submission, which will be sent back to you promptly.

9. I will send reminders before the deadline for outstanding predictions. After the deadline

10. If GuessWork is submitted after the deadline, no bankers will be allowed for that round, and a 5-point penalty will be deducted from your scores.

11. If GuessWork arrives after any Game has started, no bankers will be allowed and in addition to the 5-point penalty any games that have kicked off will be treated as Wrong Guesses.

    
    

    Scoring Points

    
    

12. The more correct scores and results you predict, the more points you earn.

13. A correct score is worth 10 points, plus an additional point for each goal the game is won by (a 4-1 win is worth 3 additional points, a 1-0 win worth 1)

14. If you miss the exact score but get the margin right, you will earn points based on the margin, plus 4 points. (You guess 3-0 but it’s 4-1 is worth 7 points)

15. If you get the result correct but not the margin, you will receive 2 points.

16. A correct draw earns you 4 points for each team, plus the goals they score. If you predict a draw, but get the score wrong it’s just worth 3 points per team

17. All points will be adjusted by team coefficients, with an additional 10% boost for points won in away games.

18. If a game ends in a draw and you predicted a win, you won't lose points; you simply guessed incorrectly.

19. However, if your prediction is entirely wrong, (you had a 3-1 home win and it ends up an away a win) you will lose points equivalent to the correct result points for that game.

20. This will be recorded as 'Wrong Result' ('WX') in the table.

    
    

    Using Bankers

    
    

21. Each round, you can use points to buy 'Bankers' that will increase your points if your prediction is correct.

22. There is a 6 point limit on Banker spending per round. If you overspend, any bankers picked in excess of the limit will be deleted. (If you spend 6 points in the first 3 games in the set any following will not count)

23. An Enhanced Banker costs 1 point and will double your points if you win. If you are wrong, you will lose the points spent plus the margin points.

24. A Guaranteed Banker costs 2 points and will triple your points. If you are wrong, you will lose points equivalent to the correct score.

25. An Immune Banker costs 4 points and triples your points. If you are wrong, you only lose the cost of the banker, the four points spent.

    
    

    Winning the Competition

    
    

26. The winner of The GuessWork Competition will be the one with the most points at the end of the season (38 rounds).

27. Before the season begins, The Picks must be submitted.

28. The deadline for The Picks is Friday Midday (UK Time) 1st August 2026

29. Teams you select in the leagues will earn points for every league game played, with the points calculated as described above, in (13) for a win and (15) for a draw

30. Defeats will result in a points deduction for the team as per (19) above

31. Wins for your Cup Teams will be worth the same as league games in the first round, increasing as rounds progress (x2 for round 2, x3 for round 3, etc.).

32. The round played is relevant to the team, not the cup round. For example, in the FA Cup 3rd round, if Wolves play Bromley, it’s the first round for Wolves but the third for Bromley, so the points will be x3 for Bromley

33. The result used in all games will be the score at the end of Normal Time; extra time and penalties will be ignored in cup games

34. Teams will earn additional points for away wins, as per (17) above and coefficients will apply to all games, making 'Giant Killers' in the cup very valuable.

35. Champions League and Europa League/Conference Group games will count as Round 1 Cup Games.

36. Points for knockout games will increase then through the knock out stages and both legs will count as 'Individual' games.

37. Qualification rounds will not be included, either pre-group stage or the 9th - 24th place play-offs.

    
    

    Player Points System

    
    

38. Player points will be scored in league games ONLY and players can be selected from across a number of leagues throughout Europe

39. Every player will earn points based on SofaScore website, scoring players out of 10

40. In addition, Players will receive 7 points for the first goal scored in a game and 4 points for any additional goals. Assists are worth 1 point.

41. The XG (Expected Goals) for the player during the game will be deducted from points won before coefficients are applied. XGs will not be deducted for defenders unless they are penalty takers, and the XG relates to a penalty

42. Player points will be enhanced if the game is won and reduced if lost.

43. The XG factor will reward spectacular performances and adjust points for penalties scored and missed.

44. Goalkeepers will earn 2 points for a clean sheet and 0.5 point for every save

45. Each goal conceded carries a 1-point penalty, and clean sheet points will be forfeited (obviously 🙄)

46. Keeper scores will also be adjusted by their Goals Prevented score on SofaScore

47. Defenders will score 1 point for a clean sheet.

48. Team coefficients and time spent on the pitch will adjust the final points earned in each game, depending on the outcome.

49. Players receiving a Red Card during a match will have their points total for the game halved

50. Wild Cards can be any player from any position, including Forwards or Keepers, as long as they are not shortlisted in those groups on the initial Picks form on the website

51. All Wild Card players 'MUST' play for different teams but can share teams with any Forwards or Keepers chosen.

52. If players change clubs, you DO NOT HAVE TO CHANGE any of the players.

53. The Player & Their club for your Picks will be determined at the time they are received by me

54. There will be transfer windows during the season, roughly every fifth round.

55. Four transfers per window will be allowed.

56. The only restriction will be the pool you can transfer from. If you replace your third choice Forward you can only substitute in a Forward from the current Group C set or below.

57. The first window is expected before Round 2, and the second at the end of Round 6.

58. If your Picks are on the bench, or injured, and do not play, they will receive 1 point adjusted by coefficients and results.

59. If players are suspended, they will not earn any points.

60. Any cash prizes won during the season will be paid out after once the final round of games has been completed.

61. Any winnings by Sutton Who ??? or Who Are We... will result in half going to charity, with the next team in the competition promoted to the prize winner slots.

62. You can claim 50 points in The Picks to start the season if you've read the rules, and have got this far. Just message "RULE 62* back to me to confirm you’ve got this far before 15th August, and I will add your 50 points.

63. An additional 50 points is on offer for every new (or returning) player you introduce to the competition (up to a maximum of 5)

64. Most importantly, it’s all just for fun, and ultimately, whatever I say goes.