This article is already way longer than it needs to be, so I will let you get straight to the analysis. Just a reminder, before we get on with it, to donate blood to your local blood bank if you can – it can save a life.
Week 11 quick rankings
Goalkeepers
Sean Johnson (TOR v NER 7.7m), Patrick Schulte (CLB v CLT 6.2m), Yohei Takaoka (VAN v RSL 8.7m), Stefan Frei (SEA v STL $7.4m)
Defenders
Kevin Long (TOR v NER, 5.9m), Steven Moreira (CLB v CLT, 9.3m) Sam Adekugbe (or whichever for VAN v RSL 7.5m), Kim Kee-Hee (SEA v STL 6.0m), Kai Wagner (PHI at MTL 11.1m)
Midfielders
Albert Rusnak (SEA 11.9m), Evander (CIN 11.2m), Cristian Espinoza (SJ 11.3m), Djorde Mihailovic (COL 11.2m), Hany Mukhtar (NSH 10.5m), Jack McGlynn (HOU $10.7m), Quinn Sullivan (PHI 10.4m), Antony (POR 10.1m), Daniel Gazdag (CLB 9.0m), Pedro Vite/Sebastian Berhalter (VAN 8.0m/8.0m), Budget: Benjamin Cremaschi (MIA 6.7m)
Forwards
Leo Messi (MIA 12.9m), Dejan Joveljic (SKC 9.6m), Christian Benteke (DC 11.6m), Cristian Arango/Josef Martinez (SJ 11.6m), Sam Surridge (NSH 9.7m), Brian White (VAN 9.1m), Denis Bouanga (LAFC 9.0m), Budget: Danny Musovski (SEA 5.9m)
Week 11 schedule
This week is a relatively straightforward "normal" week based on the general 2025 weekend template. At 11:45am Pacific we have Atlanta vs. Nashville, with two teams going in totally opposite directions. Nashville got over their bump against Seattle, taking it out on Chicago in a 7-1 thrashing. Atlanta is seemingly worse every week. I think Nashville takes this one but there are always potential fireworks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
1:30pm has Toronto hosting New England. One fairly bad team and another that is showing signs of life coming off of three straight clean sheets. New England has won their last two road matches, can they make it three in a row?
Then we jump to the 4:30pm slate of games. Columbus vs. Charlotte will be a test of two of the top four teams in the East. I am skeptical Charlotte belongs up there, but this should be a battle. DC plays Colorado and DC may have Benteke back. Even though the one game they won lately was the game where Benteke was injured, I still think DC don't stand much of a chance without him. Miami is home against New York Red Bulls. They will try to bounce back after their (humiliating?) defeat at the hands of Sebastian Berhalter, Brian White and their whole gang. Now that they are out of CCC , do they wake up in league play and start tearing through again? Montreal vs. Philadelphia rounds out that time slot.
5:30pm has Austin vs. Minnesota, which is surprisingly a third versus fourth game as both sit just behind Portland and well back of Vancouver in the standings. I see this match as a grind both ways and am staying away for fantasy purposes. The other match at this time slot is Chicago against Orlando. It seems like Berhalter (the elder) still has a LOT of work left to do with Chicago, while Orlando sat their best(?) player last week and still had no trouble bullying their rivals, Atlanta, off the pitch.
6:15pm has one game that kicks off slightly early (that caught me out last week when Orlando started early and had benched Ojeda) – San Diego vs. Dallas. Has San Diego been figured out? They have now lost three in a row and allowed three goals in all those games. Dallas just went and smashed into Miami for a 4-3 win against their reserves, can they use that momentum?
6:30pm has one game, Vancouver playing Salt Lake. Vancouver made me out to be fools last week by sending a heavily rotated lineup to start against Minnesota and still coming away with a 3-1 road win. This team has defied all logic this year, getting better each week despite all their challenges and missing their best player in Ryan Gauld. This game could easily be a bloodbath.
7:30pm gives us three late matches. LAFC plays Houston, in a game that seemingly should be an LAFC win, but LAFC's defense has been very shaky lately. They have allowed multiple goals in their last three games and have allowed 16 on the season, fourth worst in the Western Conference. Still, their underlying xG numbers are not that bad and Houston has a very weak defense. Just look out for Houston's new DP, maybe he elevates the whole team.
San Jose vs. Portland is the kind of game fantasy managers dream about – all offense. Each team has scored 20 goals this year, tied for most in the west. I might take the over if you set it at five goals.
Then we have Seattle vs. St. Louis. The opposite here, with a much more defensive battle. Seattle has the second best xGA in the league and St. Louis is in a tie for third-fewest goals conceded. This matchup earlier in the year had Jesus Ferreira at #9 with Georgi Minoungou on the right. As Ferreira picked up a knock and Jordan Morris is out for some time, we should see Danny Musovski back up top this time with a healthy Pedro de la Vega and more minutes for Ryan Kent. I like Seattle a lot here.
Sunday has two games, the first at noon Pacific as New York City FC plays Cincinnati. This game is a tough read for me – Cincy is top of the East but have relied on narrow one-goal wins. Their xGD is underwater. Evander has scored 4.5 more goals than his xG suggests he should have (yes, that's six goals on 1.5 xG!) I don't think they're going to capsize, but I don't know they'll stay at the top. NYCFC have just been inconsistent.
Then at 4:00pm the weekend wraps up with Kansas City vs. LA Galaxy. Two very bad defenses, though the Galaxy attack is about as bad. This looks like an easy win for post-Vermes SKC but I think we could see the Galaxy go on a tear any day now when they get their act together. Still, I'm not holding my breath. SKC attackers will be rightfully popular this week.
Thoughts and Players
Defenses
Toronto – The Revs have climbed out of the basement and won road games against tougher opponents than Toronto. I get it. But I still don't think they are "fixed" and think their luck runs out here. In the past five games Toronto blanked Vancouver, Minnesota and RSL while holding Miami and NYCFC to one goal each. It's just the offense that has sputtered, leaving a lot of points on the table. As long as Laryea is still injured, none of the defenders have distinguished themselves (at least for fantasy scoring), so I'd go with Kevin Long (5.9m) as a cheap option who has a handful of bonus points.
Columbus – Though Charlotte has been strong this year generally, the Crew still have one of the strongest defenses in the league. They are well worth taking at home against a mid-tier offense. Since Cheberko has been deemed expendable in recent weeks, so I like Steven Moreira (9.3m). He has a goal and three assists on the year plus respectable passing bonus points.
Vancouver – RSL spoiled my San Diego pick last week, but Vancouver is proving to be a cut above everyone else. They’ve scored the most goals and allowed the fewest, with xG and xGA that backs that up (2nd and 1st, respectively). That's all while fighting through CCC travel and rotation. Is there anything they can't do? If you go with VAN then your option will really depend on what their lineup looks like. Notably, Tate Johnson and Sam Adekugbe traded halves against Miami, Ahmed, Veselinovic and Ocampo played 90 and Blackmon played 80+ minutes. Laborda would be a good pick except he's been out injured and has no time back on the field yet. Ahmed will likely be yielding to Gauld soon, though not sure Gauld is back this week. Choosing the right guy here is definitely much more an art than a science.
Seattle – Seattle is second in xGA, with several own goals making the goals against number look worse. St. Louis have a weak attack and the only goal they scored on Seattle happened when Jackson Ragen stepped on the ball, tripped, and hit it with his hand on the ground, setting up a favorable free kick. Seattle was a league-leader in clean sheets last year and this is exactly the kind of game where you expect them to flex that strength. I think the pick here is Kim Kee-Hee (6.0m) as long as Ragen is declared out for another week. If not, then Yeimar for minutes or whoever starts between Kalani Kossa-Rienzi or Alex Roldan if you want to hunt for offensive contributions.
Luca Orellano? Kai Wagner? Alex Freeman? All three are on the road this week against weaker teams. Orellano has two games in a row with an assist, Wagner has two clean sheets in a row, and Freeman has had 7+ points in five of his last six matches including a goal/CS double last week for 14 points. I'm guessing at least one of these guys hits this week. I'm going with Wagner myself, but there's enough working against these guys (lack of bonus points, road game, CS reliance) that I am not confident in recommending one in particular.
Midfielders
Albert Rusnak (SEA 11.9m) – He played 28 minutes against Nashville with not much to do, then 35 minutes against Colorado. Ferreira has a knock and Ryan Kent is not fit to start yet, so it looks like Rusnak is set to start. I expect him to go at least 60 minutes and maybe even back to the 90 minutes he was playing most weeks earlier in the year. He's elite when he gets that time on the field.
Evander (CIN 11.2m) – Evander is a special player, though he has somehow managed to score six goals on 1.5 xG. That's a little concerning and there may be more four-point games coming for him, but he was special last year as well so possibly he keeps it going. Probably a lock in 95% of lineups for good reason.
Cristian Espinoza (SJ 11.3m) – Five points without a goal contribution last week and he had six in the same situation the week before. He's not blowing anyone away, but he does get Portland at home this time to look for those big points he's found at other times this season.
Djordje Mihailovic (COL 11.2m) – He would have had a similar middling day if not for a moment of brilliance by sneaking a FK under Seattle's wall for what looked like an easy goal. DC's defense is very poor, so Djordje will still be a reasonable pick on the road.
Hany Mukhtar (NSH 10.5m) – Wow, what a week! Congrats if you believed in a bounce back game for him, 19 points is pretty amazing for a single-match score. At Atlanta will be a great game for him to build on that performance.
Jack McGlynn (HOU $10.7m) – Five points with no goal contribution last week was decent. LAFC's defense has looked somewhat vulnerable and they like to cede possession. Though McGlynn has cooled somewhat, he did put up 13 points on LAFC back in Week 7. I like him again for this rematch, even on the road.
Martin Ojeda (ORL 11.2m) – He was not in my quick rankings above because I get worried when a team leader and great player is benched unexpectedly. Orlando didn’t need him in the lineup, it seems. But away to Chicago is a nice matchup so I would be remiss to completely ignore him. Proceed with caution.
Quinn Sullivan (PHI 10.4m) – Philadelphia should be able to control the game against Montreal, giving Sullivan the opportunity to find those bonus points that have vanished after his four-week surge. He had just one against Atlanta and none against DC. His price is creeping up to elite level though so I think we will need a little more from him going forward. Still, a reasonable week to stay the course.
Antony (POR 10.1m) – He has seemingly become the main man for Portland, facilitating play and scoring goals. Da Costa is clearly talented but is still struggling to fit with the team on the pitch. If you want some of Portland taking a bite out of San Jose (maybe?) then Antony is seemingly the best option right now.
Daniel Gazdag (CLB 9.0m) – Another in the five-point club last week, Gazdag is seemingly just a bit away from putting it all together. I think he has great days ahead of him and this week at home against Charlotte is a good spot to open his scoring account with the Crew.
Pedro Vite/Sebastian Berhalter (VAN 8.0m/8.0m) – This pair has been on a tear through MLS and Liga MX opponents. Both played 90 midweek so may not be starting, but they are on such good form it may be silly to completely ignore them.
Budget: Benjamin Cremaschi (MIA 6.7m) – I have a feeling Miami is going to come out of their defeat to Vancouver on a revenge spree against the Eastern Conference. Cremaschi was a bit of a late sub against Vancouver, so I am betting he will start back in the league. He's had some very productive outings for fantasy, just a bit of a rough set of games to start the year.
Forwards
Leo Messi (MIA 12.9m) – He's in a bit of a slump... maybe age is truly, actually catching up with him? He's built up a lot of credit though, so it'll take some more time for me to count him out.
Dejan Joveljic (SKC 9.6m) – A "revenge" game against the team that shipped him off since they could not afford him anymore? Said team looking like the worst in the conference, if not the league? Sign me up.
Christian Benteke (DC 11.6m) – He was back in training this week, but it's unclear if he's ready to start or would even go 60+ minutes if he does. Still, he is elite and Colorado have had multiple goals scored against them in four of their last six matches.
Cristian Arango/Josef Martinez (SJ 11.6m/9.2m) – This dynamic duo is tied for six goals apiece, which puts them in a tie for third-most goals in the league with a few other players. Arango has taken penalties but Martinez is a bit ahead in npxG, and of course is 2.4m cheaper. Of course Martinez was pulled at halftime last match with a "tight hamstring" issue, so make sure to check if he's healthy and starting. EDIT: Martinez is OUT according to the player status report. Portland is unbeaten in seven matches, but they have allowed multiple goals in their past three games and SJ's offense is by multiple measures the best in the league. I would not be surprised to see a 4-3 win for SJ here.
Sam Surridge (NSH 9.7m) – Maybe a bit of point-chasing after Surridge's massive 24 points on four goals, but Nashville's attack seems like a good matchup against Atlanta's disorganized defense (and Guzan's dreadful play this year). Maybe they get Derrick Williams back for a slight upgrade at CB, but Stian Gregersen is still expected to be out, and this is a big opportunity for Surridge to keep the momentum going.
Brian White (VAN 9.1m) – He only played 56 minutes against Miami, coming off after Vancouver was 2-1 up on the night and 4-1 on aggregate. He should be starting and ready to take advantage of RSL's defense. Turns out White is injured and has been declared OUT tomorrow.
Denis Bouanga (LAFC 9.0m) – That's two weeks in a row with 16+ points. Making up for lost time, I guess. Houston may be a slightly tougher test as they will be more likely to win the possession battle, and LAFC have been at 60%+ their last two matches along with Bouanga's resurgence. If Houston is hogging the ball, Bouanga's bonus points will necessarily come way down (seven BPs in the last two matches, he hadn't had more than two in any other match this season). But Bouanga is still an elite striker, the best weapon LAFC has, and worth considering every week.
Budget: Danny Musovski (SEA 5.9m) – Jordan Morris is once again out injured for the time being, so Musovski will hold the #9 role for the Sounders. Ferreira was not great there and Musovski's hard work on and off the ball has been rewarded with three goals in three games. And mega sample size alert but his npxG/90 is 1.23, with Bruno Damiani in second at 0.77, Martinez third at 0.73. Messi is seventh with 0.62! Musovski could go 180 minutes with zero xG and would still be at a league-leading 0.80 npxG/90 (and would, at that point, have more minutes than Messi does now). His numbers are destined to come down, but as long as he is a focal point of Seattle's attack, he will have good opportunities and will be fantasy relevant, especially if you need a very cheap forward.
Captain Considerations
Leo Messi – I don't know if he's the "right" choice, but I will not be surprised if he starts this week and make a lot of people regret going for other options.
Evander – Disappointing week last week given the opportunity was there, but he has at least seven points in each road game so far this year. The Atlanta match was actually the only home game where he excelled (3, 3, and 4 in the other three home games). So maybe this is the better week to cap him?
Cristian Espinoza – As good as SJ's forwards have been, Espinoza has been the most consistent of the three, scoring at least five points in seven of 10 games (five of those game with 8+ points), more points from bonus points, and has played every minute. If you think SJ is like to score a few in this game, I think Espi is the best captain choice.
Albert Rusnak – It looks like Schmetzer will need to start Rusnak again with Ferreira picking up a knock, and he has typically been excellent at home when starting. Maybe a slight differential captain this week given other options.
