Just like Week 1 of fantasy, this week features a sole double-game week, with Philly hosting the Crew tonight as the appetizer to Seattle v LAFC in the USOC semifinals. Philadelphia will be seeking revenge for their 3-1 loss to Columbus back in the Leagues Cup semifinals a couple of weeks ago. The Crew have been unstoppable lately, beating SKC 4-0, beating Miami 3-2, beating NYCFC on PKs, beating Philly 3-1 and finally winning Leagues Cup over LAFC 3-1 as well. It will be an interesting week to see who gets their 4-6 Crew/Philly players correct and who navigates the rest of the schedule wisely.
Quick rankings
This article is possibly overly long, so here are my quick rankings, somewhat in order, with fuller explanations after.
Goalkeeper: Brad Stuver, Kristijan Khalina, Pedro Gallese, Hugo Lloris, (Patrick Schulte or Andre Blake are higher if you don't want 3x of PHI or CLB in your 10 outfield players)
Defender: Rudy Camacho, Steven Moreira, Kai Wagner, Jakob Glesnes, Adilson Malanda, Dagur Thorhallsson, Jon Gallagher, Aaron Long, Noah Elie
Midfielder: Daniel Gazdag, Quinn Sullivan, Evander, Albert Rusnak, Marco Reus, Marcel Hartel/Cedric Teuchert, Cristian Espinoza, Mateusz Bogusz, Lewis Morgan, Pedro de la Vega (if starting), Sebastian Lletget
Forward: Cucho Hernandez, Diego Rossi, Tai Baribo, Denis Bouanga, Luis Suarez, Jordan Morris
Captain: Cucho Hernandez. Rossi or Gazdag if Cucho isn't starting or if you're a Cucho hater.
Week 24 schedule
Bye: Sporting Kansas City
Wednesday: Philly v Crew
This game is much more important for Philadelphia, who are sitting one point out of 9th and seven points back from avoiding the play-in round of the playoffs, with a game in hand for both spots. Meanwhile, the Crew are one point clear of fourth and five points back from second with three games in hand over all the playoff teams in the East. Columbus can probably afford to take it a little easier in this one than they might otherwise. They might have to, as that extra game means extra match congestion on top of just playing the full Leagues Cup. Philly also played on Sunday, losing the 3rd place match on PKs, so both teams are coming in on short rest, but the Union likely have extra motivation to prove themselves at home against one of the best three teams in the League.
Taking this all into account, I think you should not shy away from Philadelphia players, even though they are on the road this weekend and have a tough test tonight. Here are the Philly players to know:
- Tai Baribo ($6.4m) - Baribo is Philly's top striker now that Carranza is gone. He earned the golden boot in Leagues Cup and typically plays 90 minutes for Philly. He is crazy cheap for a top striker and well worth a roster slot this week. Unfortunately for Philly he earned a double-yellow against Mazatlan in Leagues Cup and had to sit out the match against the Crew. Maybe it would have been a different game with Baribo leading the line, as he had 2 goals in each knockout game that he actually played more than 45 minutes.
- Daniel Gazdag ($11.4m) - Gazdag is Philly's #10, though his fantasy points are fueled by goals (13) rather than assists (1). He also earns occasional bonus points from passes and/or key plays, but is averaging just over 1 BP per game (24 BPs over 20 games). Still, based on his position and minutes, he's the most likely of their midfielders to play 180 minutes and deliver a point haul. He's gone 90/90 in every other DGW so far, which I take as a good sign.
- Kai Wagner ($10.8m) - He's been recommended often for Philly for good reason: he is actually the top scoring Philly player in fantasy (although Gazdag's per game average is higher). Wagner is another ironman who plays 90 minutes almost every match. He's earned 7 assists in league play and assisted on both of Baribo's goals against Colorado in the 3rd place match. He also has an absurd 53 BPs from his passing, key plays and crosses, averaging over 2 BPs a game. Unless Philly is absolutely eviscerated by the Crew, he could easily be the top scoring defender of the round even if Philly doesn't manage a clean sheet.
Other Philly players to consider: Andre Blake ($6.7m) is back in net and probably your better bet for a DGW keeper, given the Crew have been doing some rotation on that front lately. Jakob Glesnes ($7.2m) is the better CB to play if you want another Philly defender. Quinn Sullivan ($7.2m) has been improving weekly and seems a good candidate for two starts, though he's often a 65-80 minute player.
Here's my thoughts on the Columbus options:
- Cucho ($13.8m) - He should be in every lineup and probably everyone's captain. He scored on Philly and had a brace against LAFC. Don't overthink this.
- Diego Rossi ($10.4m) - Rossi has had a revelatory season as the ice to Cucho's fire. Once he found his stride this year, his smooth moves in the attacking phase have opened up space for himself and others and he's scored goals with pinpoint accuracy. I've noted something like this before, but it bears emphasizing, through his first 10 starts this year Rossi was averaging 3.3 ppg. Since then he's earned 106 points in 12 starts, an average of 8.8 ppg. And his pace kept up during Leagues Cup with 6 goals in 5 games. Another one not to overthink.
- Rudy Camacho ($9.8m) or Steven Moreira ($9.4m) - Two of the Crew's central three defenders, they're stalwarts playing nearly every minute they are available. Camacho has a slightly higher point average while Moreira has more overall points. The main difference is Camacho is averaging about 76 passes/90 while Moreira is at 70 passes/90 (according to MLS fantasy, Opta's stats have them even at 75 passes attempted/90). Since the benchmark is 35 passes per point, Moreira misses out when he's under the 70-pass threshold.
Other Crew to consider: honestly, no one in my opinion. You could take Mo Farsi or Sean Zawadski to have a defender playing an advanced position for some attacking potential; you could take Malte Amundsen or Yevhen Cheberko to try and guess which defender will be the 3rd CB in both matches; you could take whichever of Patrick Schulte or Nicholas Hagen that starts on Wednesday and hope they stay in for Saturday; or you could take Christian Ramirez or Max Arftsen as wildcard forward options that are less likely to earn points but could be a differential if you guess correctly. Whatever you do, don't pick Nagbe. Friends don't let friends pick Nagbe in fantasy (as great as he is in real soccer).
Saturday
4:30 pm slate
- Charlotte v Atlanta - Atlanta put up a valiant effort for about 75 minutes in Los Angeles last weekend, but eventually succumbed to LA's 62nd minute subs, including Marco Reus and his debut goal and assist. I'm not sure things get much better for them in Charlotte, though Charlotte has just one win in their past eight games (including Leagues Cup). Malanda might be a good choice again, as his 113 passes last week got him to 5 points despite missing a clean sheet. Saba Lobjanidze and Bartosz Sliz had 6 KPs and Xande Silva had 8 KPs last week, so there is some attacking potential to go around for Atlanta, but I'm not taking them this week.
- Columbus v New York City FC - For NYCFC specifically, their last two games against Columbus have been mixed. In Leagues Cup it was a 1-1 draw after a first-minute goal by Martinez (and a loss after PK misses by Moralez and Santi, of all guys) and in New York in June it was a 3-2 loss after going down a player 40 minutes in with the game 0-0. That was a wild one and was verrrry close to a tie. So NYCFC can get work done, I just don't think any of their guys are good choices this week.
- Cincinnati v Montreal - Montreal is downright terrible, though Cincy has been flawed lately. They lost 4-2 to Philly in Leagues Cup and lost four in a row in MLS play going into the break. Of course, they had won 12/14 games prior to that losing streak, so who knows who the real Cincy is. It likely depends on the health of Lucho Acosta and their back line. Of course, Acosta got a yellow card off the bench last week while he was on yellow card warning, so he will miss this match. Yuya Kubo or Luca Orellano are interesting here for Cincy if you believe in Montreal's benevolence to opposing attackers.
- New York Red Bulls v Philadelphia - The Red Bulls powered through for a decent 1-1 draw in Charlotte last week. Vanezir and Manoel combined for the goal, but it was Lewis Morgan who was the dangerous attacker, with 14 key plays and six shots (and he was three passes shy of another BP). Since Forsberg is likely not ready to return, it should be Morgan running the show again. I'm not sure Morgan is in my top 5 mids for the week, but he's in my top 10 for sure.
- Orlando v Nashville - Nashville continued their losing streak, falling 2-0 at home to Austin. Orlando also lost 3-0 at home to SKC last week. Orlando won 3-0 in Nashville back on July 17th, and I don't see much that has changed between the two at this point. Any of the front four is viable for Orlando: forwards Ivan Angulo and Ramiro Enrique or midfielders Facundo Torres and Martin Ojeda. Angulo has been solid but unspectacular, Enrique has been making the most of his opportunities and consistently scoring, Torres has been very hot or cold (his past nine league games fall into two categories: five weak games scoring 1, 2, 3, 3, and 5 points, and four excellent games scoring 12, 13, 14, and 15 points) and Ojeda has been consistently productive but hasn't had as high as ceiling as Torres. If you want an Orlando defender just take Thorhallsson.
- Toronto v DC United - DC just lost a crazy home game 4-3 where they went into half down 4-2 having just lost a player to a red and scored a third but couldn't find the equalizer. This kind of game speaks to their issues all year – when their offense is great they can't defend, and when they can defend the offense disappears. Toronto played a first-choice lineup against Forge FC in the Canadian Championship on Tuesday and beat Houston on the road 1-0 last weekend. Insigne returned to the lineup against Forge, so it may be an even better attack this weekend. If my forward spots weren't jammed up, I'd be strongly considering
Bernardeschi,Insigne or Owusu (EDIT: I have since been informed that Bernardeschi is suspended with YCA).
5:30 pm
- Chicago v Miami - This will be a huge test of whether Chicago may actually compete in the playoffs, or if their crashing out of Leagues Cup was indicative of their true nature. Chicago beat Cincy on the road 1-0 and lost 2-1 in Miami just before the break and gutted out a 2-2 draw after going down 2-0 early in NYC last weekend. Miami has just been too good though, easily handling Cincy 2-0 at home last week. Suarez is a top-5 option for me again this week, though I'm not sure I trust anyone else from Miami this week.
- Austin v Vancouver - Vancouver was off last weekend but used a first-choice lineup to handle Pacific FC in the Canadian Championship, 1-0, behind an 11th minute Ryan Gauld goal. As mentioned above, last week Austin took care of business in Nashville. This is an intriguing matchup, considering that in 13 away matches Vancouver has 21 points (xGD of -3.1) and in 11 home matches just 17 points (xGD of +7.0). I have consistently failed to accurately predict either of these teams this year, so I won't speculate too much. However, Vancouver will likely be missing Brian White to a concussion and Vancouver hasn't had a clean sheet in league play in months. That might make Driussi and Gallagher and maybe Stuver good plays this week.
- Dallas v Colorado - Fresh off their qualification to CCC through Leagues Cup, Colorado faces a hot Dallas team looking to rebound from their disappointing Leagues Cup. In Dallas's past 10 league games, they have scored 24 (!) goals. Nashville has 26 on the season! Dallas's four goals last week all came before going up a man, plus they were missing star striker Musa, who was a late injury scratch. Colorado were wiped out 4-0 in Portland in the Leagues Cup group stage, but then dispatched four straight Mexican clubs (two on PKs) before becoming the latest victim of LAFC. Sebastian Lletget is quietly returning to the kind of dangerous player that earned him 33 caps with the USMNT, while Rafael Navarro continues to be a standout for Colorado and was their goalscoring and assist leader in Leagues Cup. I think Lletget is worth a look, given that this game should have goals going both ways, and Mihailovic has had a career year, but I am not keen on trying to guess which players contribute the most in this matchup.
6:30 pm
- Salt Lake v New England - New England steamrolled Montreal on the road, 5-0, while RSL lost at home to San Jose, 2-0. RSL has quietly been on an extended run of poor form, with losses in 3 of their 4 most recent league games and failing to make it out of the Leagues Cup group stage. Cristian Arango came off injured before halftime, and so went RSL's chances against San Jose it seems. I still think RSL has the quality to beat New England at home, with or without Arango, and I think San Jose is a much better team than their record would indicate. Plus, I'm not a New England believer yet. I'll be staying away from this one.
7:30 pm
- Los Angeles FC v Houston - Houston is an average team. They have +2 GD at home and +2 GD on the road. Funny enough, they have +5.7 xGD at home and -8.2 xGD on the road. LAFC are the far superior team here, but a decent part of this game comes down to how LAFC manage minutes this week. They've already qualified for CCC thanks to Leagues Cup so they might ease off the gas tonight at Starfire. Or they might do the sensible thing and go for a trophy, easing up against Houston. If they go pedal to the metal, I don't see Houston having a good chance here and will be happy with any LAFC players that fit my roster. Bouanga doesn't fit but would be a top-5 option otherwise. That means Mateusz Bogusz (who was recently called up by Poland and is reportedly being pursued as a late signing somewhere, something to keep an eye on) and the LAFC defense.
- San Jose v Minnesota - Minnesota has been poor lately, failing to secure any points against Seattle at home and generally losing a lot of matches. San Jose has two impressive wins lately, 5-0 against Necaxa at home and beating RSL on the road, so they are dangerous. Hernan Lopez had good games in Leagues Cup while Cristian Espinoza got it done at RSL. Either of those guys are worth a look. Minnesota did beat San Jose 2-0 at home before the Leagues Cup break, so I wouldn't count them out. Kelvin Yeboah had a stellar league debut, and his play could have knock-on effects with the whole offense. Lod, Lopez or Espinoza may be worth fliers in the midfield. I'd stay away from defenders here.
- Portland v Seattle - The premier matchup of the MLS week, in my humble opinion, the Timbers have the opportunity to jump over Seattle in the standings with a win (3 points back, would hold the tiebreakers with a win). Seattle, meanwhile, could jump the Rapids for fourth place and are just four points behind RSL in third. Rusnak had another showcase match against Minnesota, and Evander (after being declared a "major doubt" for the match by coach Phil Neville the day before) played the full match and rescued a point for Portland against St. Louis at home with a late free kick goal. Evander only played 35 minutes against Seattle earlier this year, looking very dangerous in limited time. Portland will be without their top two forwards due to suspension, so Evander will be asked to do even more heavy lifting. I like both of these players this week given their form and importance to their teams (though I am selfishly hoping that Evander is totally blanketed by Seattle). I don't trust the defenders on either side here (Portland's offense is too good at home, even with the absences), but I unfortunately don't have room for Morris, and don't see another standout option in the midfield.
Sunday, 11:45 am
- St. Louis v Los Angeles Galaxy - This one has the potential to be a barnburner. St. Louis has very good new additions, showcasing their prowess with four goals in Portland, while the Galaxy looked incredible with Reus on the field. 6+ goals would not surprise me in the least for this one. Puig is out this week on yellow card accumulation, so I would expect Reus to step into the starting role and assume those playmaking duties. This will be a fun game to watch. I've currently got one midfielder on each side of this one – Reus and Hartel – though I may shift one or the other around if Gazdag and Baribo are both good off my bench, if Reus isn't starting, or if Cedric Teuchert becomes available for STL's midfield.
Good luck to everyone this week!
