For good reason, the Sounders are the biggest favorites of the week. Not only are the Sounders a strong team, and a strong home team, but FC Dallas are visiting after a 120-minute midweek Open Cup match away at NY/NJ Red Bulls (where they lost on penalty kicks). The Sounders are rested. And FC Dallas are missing star attacking player Lucho Acosta due to yellow card accumulation. The Sounders have run up the score on a few visitors already this year, this looks like more of the same.
Some may think, “trap game!” but I think it makes sense to follow the logic and get in on a triple-Seattle stack. You can even put two or three of them on the bench since the match is an early game at noon Pacific, so if it does turn out to be a trap you can pivot. It is a great place to start for the week and build your roster around the Sounders.
Week 14 Quick Rankings
Goalkeepers
Stefan Frei (SEA 6.9m), CJ Dos Santos (SD 7.9m), Dayne St. Clair (MIN 9.3m), Matt Freese (NYC 8.9m)
Defenders
Alex Roldan/Kim Kee-Hee (SEA 6.1m/5.6m), Paddy McNair/Christopher McVey (SD 9.4m/9.2m), Anthony Markanich (MIN 6.8m), Justin Haak (NYC 8.2m), DeJuan Jones (SJ 7.7m), Alex Freeman (ORL 9.1m)
Midfielders
Albert Rusnak (SEA 13.1m), Cristian Espinoza (SJ 12.8m), Martin Ojeda/Marco Pasalic (ORL 11.9m/9.8m), Evander (CIN 12.6m), Anders Dreyer (SD 12.4m), Carles Gil (NE 12.1m), Jack McGlynn (HOU 11.4m)
Budget: Ryan Kent/Pedro de la Vega (SEA 7.1m/6.2m)
Forwards
Leo Messi (MIA 13.5m), Luis Muriel (ORL 10.9m), Chucky Lozano (SD 11.1m), Alonso Martinez (NYC 10.9m), Denis Bouanga (LAFC 10.5m), Josef Martinez (SJ 9.5m), Tai Baribo (PHI 9.3m)
Budget: Jesus Ferreira (SEA 6.7m)
Week 14 Schedule
This week starts on the West Coast in Seattle, with the Sounders facing FC Dallas at noon Pacific. This is the prime matchup to target, given Dallas’ recent travel, form, minutes played midweek and absences. I think most teams will rightfully have at least two, mostly three Sounders in their squads.
The other early game is also a West Coast matchup, with San Diego hosting LA Galaxy at 1:45pm. Just a bit too early to do a clean Seattle to San Diego stack, I believe a lot of players will also have two to three SD players in their lineups. LA did well to hold LAFC to a draw but still don't have a win and do not seem likely to earn their first one here, given how well San Diego has played this year.
4:30pm has some interesting games for the Saturday Night slate of matches. The big three are probably Montreal hosting LAFC and Denís Bouanga, Orlando against Portland (purple goals please), and Philadelphia and Quinn Sullivan against Miami and Messi.
5:30pm has Carles Gil and New England visiting Kansas City and Minnesota hosting Austin. I like the Revs in this one and Minnesota in the other. But these could be tougher games for the favorites than you’d expect.
6:30pm has another pair of matches, Colorado hosting St. Louis and RSL playing Vancouver. Is this the match that actually sees Olof Mellberg sent packing for St. Louis, or can they find some goals and a result? Can RSL do anything to stop Vancouver? Maybe?
The lone 7:30pm match is San Jose against Houston, an old grudge match that I think actually favors San Jose for once.
The two Sunday matches are NYCFC playing Chicago at 12:00pm Pacific and then Atlanta hosting Cincinnati at 4:00pm. NYCFC has only allowed one goal in their past five matches (though it was a sad home 1-0 loss to Montreal). Chicago still has one of the worst defenses in the East, but they are coming off two victories. Second place Cincy should not have trouble with Atlanta, but Atlanta did earn a 2-2 tie on the road in Cincinnati earlier this year, so this could be a tough one.
Thoughts and Players
Defenses
Seattle: Defense was torched by LAFC last week, but they are still one of the best squads in the league and Dallas will be missing Lucho Acosta, their big offseason acquisition and basically a requirement for their offense to function. They are also the early game so it will be easy to bench a couple from the defense if you want and clear a scrub in the lineup if they hold the line. Go with Alex Roldan (6.1m) for a high ceiling with a bit of risk and/or Kim Kee-Hee (5.6m) for a steady presence on the backline.
San Diego: Another early game, San Diego held two clean sheets last week and are perfectly capable of holding the Galaxy's sputtering attack to a blank. Though the Galaxy do have their DPs back in action, they have struggled against better teams and SD’s ability to hold they ball may blunt the Galaxy's danger. The two prime options here are Paddy McNair (9.4m) and Christopher McVey (9.2m). McNair has slightly better bonus point production on the season, while McVey still has good bonus points and is a primary set piece target with two goals so far.
Minnesota: A reasonable choice given Minnesota now has the best xGA in the league and just 13 goals against. Austin's offense has picked up their last few games but Minnesota’s defense is still strong enough to hold them out if Minnesota has a good game. Might as well go with Anthony Markanich (6.8m), assuming he starts, as he had a brace midweek in the US Open Cup to give Minnesota a come-from-behind win over St. Louis.
NYCFC: Probably the best Sunday shout for a clean sheet, given their recent form. Chicago can certainly score but NYCFC has held out better offenses lately. Any option is reasonable but throwing a dart at the board I think Justin Haak (8.2m) may have the best week.
DeJuan Jones (SJ 7.7m): This is not a San Jose pick but more of a combination of Jones's attacking output since joining San Jose and the small but reasonable chance San Jose keeps up their improved defensive ability and blanks Houston’s weak offense. San Jose has two clean sheets in their last three, only surrendering goals to Miami.
Alex Freeman (ORL 9.1m): Another player picked for attacking output primarily, Freeman was very close to some goal contributions last week, getting a CS against Miami with 9 KPs. He could very easily have as good or a better week against Portland and is one of my top picks for the week.
Midfielders
Albert Rusnák (SEA 13.1m) - A very nice goal with some key passes against Portland, he’s good for 7+ points pretty much every time he starts. A great week for him to run up the score again. Probably the #1 mid this week.
Cristian Espinoza (SJ 12.8m) - A surprise absence against New England last weekend to be with his family, his 7 pts against Miami salvaged his week. Even with no Arango, I'm expecting big things from Espinoza against Houston.
Martin Ojeda/Marco Pasalic (ORL 11.9m/9.8m) - This midfield duo is getting it done most weeks for Orlando. Ojeda is the premier option, but Pasalic has had great games here and there. Would not be crazy to run both against Portland or just go with Pasalic as a budget option if you are strapped for money.
Evander (CIN 12.6m) - An every-week player, he’s still way out ahead of his xG but his bonus points often make up for it. Away at ATL should be a reasonable matchup, though I like other guys a smidge more.
Anders Dreyer (SD 12.4m) - One of my favorites of the week, Dreyer keeps delivering and has a golden matchup against the disorganized Galaxy defense. He should be in pretty much everyone's team this week.
Carles Gil (NE 12.1m) - “Only” five points at home against San Jose, he has a very good matchup at Kansas City. Another who is out ahead of his xG, the bonus points are there to keep him competitive every week.
Jack McGlynn (HOU 11.4m) - Very strong three-game stretch, he’s had 12, then 8, then 9 points and just one assist and one goal in that span. His bonus points are back to off-the-charts. Not sure how they will be against San Jose, but Houston will run their game through McGlynn. Not one of my top-five but close.
Budget: Ryan Kent/Pedro de la Vega (SEA 7.1m/6.2m) - I am quite certain one of these guys will pop off against Dallas, starting as the wingers with Rusnak in the middle and Ferreira as striker. This attack will be deadly and I think one of them has a goal and assist. Good luck picking which one (and which one is pulled at 60 minutes or before for Rothrock).
Forwards
Leo Messi (MIA 13.5m) - A somewhat disappointing fantasy output last week, with just nine points, but he had the hockey assist on two or three of Miami's goals at San Jose and he was very very close multiple times against Orlando. Still one of the most dangerous players in the league and you are more likely to regret leaving him out than glad you faded him. But if you want to fade him, I understand.
Luis Muriel (ORL 10.9m) - He’s been playing like an actual high-priced DP lately, a huge improvement over last year. When Orlando is humming he's a top-tier option.
Chucky Lozano (SD 11.1m) - Not as high a floor as Dreyer but still has a big opportunity to put his stamp on this rivalry. He should be one of the top three names you consider this week.
Alonso Martinez (NYC 10.9m) - A bit inconsistent lately but hosting Chicago is a good opportunity to score a goal. Still has seven on the year and is third in non-penalty expected goals.
Denís Bouanga (LAFC 10.5m) - After starting the year very slow he's been hot the past two months. His six points against the Galaxy was his lowest since Week 7. He has seven goals in the past seven games and a goal or assist in each of those matches. Away to Montreal should be a good time for him to keep up the heat.
Josef Martinez (SJ 9.5m) - With Arango out and Martinez hopefully putting injury concerns behind him (he's off the injury report for now), he should be the top target for the San Jose offense. That's a great place to be this year.
Tai Baribo (PHI 9.3m) - Philadelphia is hosting Miami’s hapless defense. Baribo is on a great run of form, four goals in the past three matches. He is not getting as many minutes, but he may not need them against Philadelphia.
Budget: Jesus Ferreira (SEA 6.7m) - With Danny Musovski aggravating an injury this week, Ferreira is set to return to Forward duties for the Sounders. Ferreira as the #9 has not gone very well for the Sounders this year, but now he will have a top-tier set of attackers in the band of three beneath him. Kent, Rusnak and de la Vega will be working to connect with Ferreira and see if Ferreira can get his first goal of the year. This week it would be against his former club. I like that story and think he'll be in for a big game.
Captain Considerations
Leo Messi - I mean, he's still Messi. He's slowed down a bit but that seems more due to luck and some poor finishing from teammates than his fault in particular. I think he's still good for it this year.
Albert Rusnak - As noted things are looking very good for the Sounders this week, and I expect Rusnak to be at the center of it taking advantage. One potential wrinkle: if the Sounders earn a PK I suspect Rusnak may hand it off to Ferreira this week, but that's total speculation, don't take my word for it.
Anders Dreyer - Another prime option with an A+ matchup. Maybe a differential captain this week. I like him a lot.
Cristian Espinoza - Would not be surprised to see him as the top-scoring option of the popular picks this week. An even more differential captain pick.
