Günther: Season 6 is soon coming to an end, Hertha. We should make some play-off predictions…”

Hertha: “Indeed. So let’s get right into it with the KFC North. Two very good teams, there fighting for the divisional title. Foxes with what looks like a solid lead of 20 points and Eagles and Universe left, and Universe the underdog with 17 points and Unicorns and Foxes left. So if we assume that the Universe beat the tanking Unicorns, Foxes need to get a win against the Eagles or risk losing it all in the week 16 match against the Universe!”

Günther: “That’s right. An exciting scenario, but we do not really think that will happen. What we predict is that Foxes gets one point against the Eagles, and that the Universe will not be able to convert into a victory against the Eagles. Thus, Foxes will end with 22 points s divisional champions and Universe becomes number two with 20.”

Hertha: “Why do we believe this?”

Günther: “Because the Universe has not managed to play consistently against aggressive teams this season, and also because Foxes simply have a better, more physical team.”

Hertha: “Right. And Cardinals take third place with 2-3 points more than the 12 points they have today, and Unicorns ends up last with no points at all.”

Günther: “Yes. Cardinals looked good early on, but lost steam when they lost Ochoa. They will be back, though,and I love their approach to the game.”

Hertha: “And then KFC East, which is the real problem. Here we have four teams who seem to compete for the prize of being most average- Only Thunder is really chanceless for the divisional title. Sluggers has 14 points and two more matches, and Gunners and River Bandits 11 and 10 respectively, with 3 matches left.”

Günther: “River Bandits is at a disadvantage because they have Patriots in week 15. Otherwise there are exciting divisional matches between River Bandits and Gunners in week 14, and Gunners and Sluggers in week 16. The Gunners one-turners will probably be the deciding factor here, and take the divisional title with wins over River Bandits, Griffins and Sluggers. Sluggers take second place with win over Thunder and loss to the Gunners and thus ending with 16 points. River Bandits will draw the shortest straw, and lose against the Gunners and the Patriots and possibly winning against the Thunderbolts, thus ending with 13 points.”

Hertha: “Yes. Leaving Thunder with 11 points after a loss against the Sluggers and a draw against the Griffins.”

Günther: “Exactly. Turning to KFC South, the Scimitars are in the driver seat. 21 points and two matches left, leaves the Scimitars to screw up seriously if they are to lose this. The remaining matches against 49ers and Razorbacks does not seem too hard a schedule either.”

Hertha: “Right. The only other team with a theoretical chance are the Eagles. At 17 points, they are three points behind but also have three matches left. Cardinals in week 14 and Unicorns in week 16 should be possible, but the real challenge is the match against the Foxes in week 15. Nevertheless, even with 6 points in these three matches bringing their total up to 24, we believe the Scimitars will get 4 and a total of 25, making it the divisional champion. Key games here are the week 15 games, with Scimitars vs 49ers and Eagles vs Foxes.”

Günther: “The final division, KFC West, Also has two teams competing for the divisional title. Classics are in the lead, with 23 points and one match remaining. Patriots had a three loss streak just before midseason and is trailing Classics by three points, but they have two matches left and should have a comfortable victory against the River Bandits in week 15. Thus, it will be down to the Patriots vs Classics game in week 16 to decide the winner. A clear divisional final.”

Hertha: “And we think it will end in a draw, leaving Classics the divisional champion and Patriots the runner-up. If this happens, it will be the first time in DLE history that Patriots does not win the KFC West.”

Günther: “So, this means that the expected four divisional winners will be Foxes with 22 points, Gunners with 17 points, Scimitars with 25 points and Classics with 24 points. This gives the byes to Classics and Scimitars. And then we have the exciting hunt for the wild card spots, Hertha.”

Hertha: “Yes. Or maybe not so exciting. We have predicted already that Patriots will grab one of the spaces with their 23 points, and Eagles another with 22 or 23. Theoretically, no other teams could get above 20 points. So the wild card matches are likely to be Foxes vs Eagles and Gunners vs Patriots. Isn’t that right, Günther?”

Günther: “Yes, that sums it up well. So now it’s only to wait and see what happens in real life…”

Brought to you by Hertha Wendlinger and Günther Schiele, Carroburg Tageszeitung