MLS Fantasy Week 1: Start Your Engines!

MLS, welcome back. The year is underway with seven teams already playing midweek in Concacaf Champions Cup action and gets fully into gear this Saturday with a full slate of league games. Now that the league once again has an even number of teams, there will only be three weeks with byes, so everyone is in action this weekend. The MLS Fantasy game is basically returning unchanged from last year, with unlimited transfers, rolling lockouts, and the same scoring system. No adjustments needed on that end. If you haven't set up your teams yet, it's time to get started!

2025 Fantasy with Sounder at Heart

We are back with our own fantasy leagues on the MLS website (the only real place for MLS fantasy). Once you've signed up, you can use league code NPPW9L7S or follow this link to join our Open League and compete against other readers and friends from around the league. We anticipate once again being among the five biggest public leagues on the site.

We are also running Discord-only leagues for Head-to-Head, where you compete against one person each week, and Open, where the league winner will receive a prize. You can join our Discord by signing up as a Supporter or above and find us in the #fantasy-soccer channel where we chat about injury updates, lineups, and team selection.

As with last year, we are also competing in an NWSL Fantasy league over at ShePlays. The rules there are a little different, but it's a fun way to follow our favorite Reign players and their competitors. You can find our Ride of the Valkyries league featured and can join up with code: "rovalks." The NWSL kicks off March 14th so there's still plenty of time to join.

Week 1 schedule

LAFC vs. Minnesota starts the regular season off (now that Miami's match was moved to a night game after their CCC game was pushed back a day) at 1:30 pm PT. Once that game wraps up, we'll have a familiar slate of Saturday night games kicking off at 7:30 pm local times. Then Sunday it is an early rivalry day with Portland vs. Whitecaps at 1:00 pm and Galaxy vs San Diego at 4:00 pm PT.

You'll especially want to keep a close eye on the matchups featuring CCC participants that already played a midweek game and have another midweek match coming up: LAFC vs MIN, MIA vs NYC, CIN vs NYR, ATX vs SKC, STL vs COL, SJE vs RSL, SEA vs CHA, POR vs VAN. Historically, it's been a mixed bag whether teams rotate this early in the season, but it is wise to check lineups.

Week 1 rankings

Here's who I'm targeting this week. I've starred names that may be out of lineups for various reasons. I've tried to include a range of options at the top and bottom of budgets, but I expect when lineups are released we'll see a lot more low-valued players get real playing time if you need to save money somewhere.

Goalkeepers

If you're watching lineups: Dayne St. Clair (MIN $6.5m), Roman Burki (STL $6.8m), Brad Stuver (ATX $6.5m), Oscar Ustari (MIA $4.0m).

If you want to set and forget: Stefan Frei (SEA $6.5m), Brad Guzan (ATL $6.0m), Patrick Schulte (CLB $6.5m).

LAFC and MIA are at home vs. MIN and NYC, respectively, and Colorado and SKC are on the road this weekend against STL and ATX, respectively, after playing CCC games in essentially sub-zero temps. I expect at least one of these teams to rotate heavily, and they can be targeted when lineups release. MIN at LAFC is the early match so you can park DSC on your bench to attempt a keeperoo if you're bold.

I think Burki and Stuver are totally reasonable even if Colorado or SKC don't rotate much, but I like them a lot if they do. Ustari started against SKC and is in line to start again with Drake Callender injured, so if Miami goes full-strength he's a really nice option to hold as the first half of a keeperoo. You could go for Freese if Miami rotates, but I've seen enough of Messi to know even just 30 minutes from him can ruin the opponent's day.

Seattle's defense is really good. So is Columbus's. Atlanta's is a work-in-progress but they host Montreal (who did not really improve in the offseason).

Defenders

Nouhou (SEA $5.8m), Paul Arriola* (SEA $7.5m), Jordi Alba* (MIA $7.3m), Dagur Thorhallsson (ORL $6.5m), Tomas Totland (STL $6.3m), Maya Yoshida (LAG $7.0m), John Gallagher (ATX $6.5m), Ronald Hernandez (ATL $5.8m) or Efrain Morales (ATL $5.0m) or Matthew Edwards (ATL $4.0m).

Seattle has a very good defense, and Arriola looked great (but is a rotation risk). Alba is also a rotation risk; I'll use him if he starts because he's always involved in the attack. Thorhallsson and Totland are both offense-minded outside backs, good options when we aren't yet sure who the good defensive and offensive teams are. Yoshida is a no-nonsense defender who had one of the highest passing totals of all defenders last year. Gallagher is targeting the visiting SKC. Both of Atlanta's preferred outside backs (Amador and Lennon) are injured at the moment, and one of their centerbacks picked up a knock in training, so I expect one or two of these cheap Atlanta defenders to start (and hopefully hold their own against Montreal).

Midfielders

Miguel Almiron (ATL $8.5m), Ryan Gauld* (VAN $8.5m), Djordje Mihailovic* (COL $7.8m), Albert Rusnak* (SEA $8.3m), Evander* (CIN $9.0m), Pedro de la Vega* (SEA $7.5m), Osman Bukari (ATX $6.5m), Georgi Minoungou* (SEA $5.0m), Marco Reus ($8.5m), Martin Ojeda (ORL $7.5m), David Martinez* (LAFC $6.0m), Hosei Kijima* ($5.8m).

Almiron, Gauld, Mihailovic, Rusnak and Evander are all premium, high-tier options who have proven themselves weekly in this league. They all carry a degree of risk though and none are locks. Almiron has to reintegrate to the team, while Gauld, Mihailovic, Evander and Rusnak are rotation risks to save their legs for midweek CCC. PDLV is not as proven and is another rotation risk, he but has shown a lot of spark in preseason and could perform like a premium option at a reduced price. It's a similar story with Bukari, who arrived in Austin after a $7.0m transfer (real dollars, not Fantasy) and struggled last year, but has been the leader in Austin's attack in preseason.

If Georgi starts, it is hard to beat his potential at his value. Martinez and Kijima may be in line for starts in attacking positions as well, given injuries and their teams' depth charts, and are two more great values for the price. Marco Reus is set to do the heavy lifting for the Galaxy to create chances from the central midfield, as is Ojeda for Orlando. I see them as a nice, safe options if you just want someone who's going to be heavily involved in a good team's attack.

Forwards

Leo Messi* (MIA $10.0m), Gabriel Pec (LAG $8.3m), Luis Suarez* (MIA $9.0m), Christian Benteke (DCU $8.5m), Brandon Vasquez (ATX $8.3m), Cedric Teuchert (STL $7.3m), Agustin Ojeda (NYC $6.5m), Jamal Thiare* (ATL $6.3m).

Messi should be a lock and captain if he starts. Pec is also close to a lock in my mind. Last year he was arguably the best player in fantasy during the second half of the season, he is not playing CCC yet and he gets to host an expansion club and rival at home opening weekend.

Beyond those two, the rest will probably depend on how you feel about the other premium options and what your budget looks like. Suarez may rotate, but stacking him with Messi has paid dividends in the past. Benteke's team is worse but he's still the reigning golden boot winner. Vasquez is fresh but familiar with the league and Austin is likely much better. Teuchert came on strong the second half of last year and will likely compete with other premium options as a slightly discounted price.

For budget options, I am hearing that Ojeda is poised for a breakout year for NYC and he could feast against a rotated Miami defense. Thiare may be a Week 1 starter, as Atlanta's star striker Latte Lath just joined them in training a week ago and he only got about a 15-minute runout in their preseason match on February 15th.

Captain considerations

Leo Messi - Last year taught us that it is foolish to question the GOAT, as probably 3/4ths of the weeks he started he was in the top 5 scorers (and even in some weeks when he didn't start). If he's starting, he should be in your lineup and should be your captain.

Gabriel Pec - The go-to option if you want to go against the grain or if Messi isn't starting. He has a good matchup, doesn't have a midweek match, and is on a good team that has an identity and continuity from last year. Lean on that Week 1.

Evander - It is possible that Cincinnati roll out a full-strength lineup against the Red Bulls given that they won their road CCC game 4-1 and can probably take it easy on the return leg. There may be some fitness concerns so temper your expectations on his minutes, but he can get a lot accomplished in 60 minutes (he had a goal and assist in less than that in Honduras).

Christian Benteke - Last year's golden boot winner gets to start off against what looks like a very bad Toronto team at home. Toronto seems stuck with Lorenzo Insigne as a dead weight on the roster and looks like they plan to coast through 2025 until they can shed bad contracts going into 2026. If Messi and Evander sit and you don't like Pec, Benteke is probably the best bet to score Week 1. DC United's attack is a bit of a mess (Klich was traded but still occupies a DP spot for DC, Ku-DiPietro was sold, and Stroud and Herrera are injured) but Benteke's aerial dominance means any basic service will turn into high-quality chances.

Getting into gear

Week 1 is sure to feature a lot of surprises. The busy early season means the best teams are distracted, and the wholesale changes by some teams in the offseason mean we have to discard some of our preconceptions from 2024. Don't be discouraged if your Week 1 team disappoints – we're all trying to get up to speed and some will be luckier than others. It is a long season and, like last year, there will be different qualifying periods for the Fantasy Champions League if that's something you care about. So, you can win prizes even if you don't start doing well until Week 7 (or 13, or 19).

The most important thing right now is to check lineups and injuries and make sure your targets are actually playing. Or, short of that, check the Player Status Report on Friday night when it gets updated or MLS Fantasy Boss's Mega Reference sheet ahead of the games to see if your lineup has any obvious holes. I use them to try and avoid embarrassment (keyword: try). Joining us on Discord and sharing the lineups you're working with is another good way to improve your results. Good luck this year!