These final weeks will test fantasy managers with a series of challenging weeks that will require some creativity in team building. This weekend has a fair number of teams on Bye in consideration of Leagues Cup concluding, and the rest of the weeks have a mess of double-game weeks that will force some compromises. This weekend also features a Saturday slate where every game overlaps, and just one lone Sunday game to serve as the top part of any switcheroos you might want. So even though the end of the (fantasy) season is rushing towards us, these last weeks will be a long, slow goodbye.
Week 26 quick rankings
Goalkeepers
Kristijan Kahlina (8.8m), Matt Freese (8.0m), Dayne St. Clair (8.1m) Joe Willis (9.1m), Hugo Lloris (7.5m)
Defenders
Adilson Malanda (9.9m), Justin Haak (8.6m), Michael Boxall (7.9), Andy Najar (9.3m), Ryan Hollingshead (8.8m), Kai Wagner (12.3m)
Midfielders
Anders Dreyer (16.1m), Hany Mukhtar (16.0m), Evander (15.8m), Carles Gil (15.3m), Jack McGlynn (13.8m), Djordje Mihailovic (13.3m), Emil Forsberg (11.1m), Maxi Moralez (9.5m), Owen Wolff (9.4m)
Forwards
Sam Surridge (13.2m), Alonso Martinez (12.3m), Chucky Lozano (12.1m), Son Heung-min (12.0m), Eric Choupo-Moting (11.9m), Rafael Navarro (11.4m), Prince Owusu (10.7m)
Week 26 schedule
Saturday night starts at 4:30 pm Pacific with about half of the games of the weekend. New England faces Charlotte, NYCFC plays DC, NYRB hosts Columbus, Toronto has a rivalry match against Montreal, and Cincinnati takes on Philadelphia in a match that could go a long way towards determining the Supporters' Shield winner. New England just got a strong road win over Columbus that keeps their faint playoff hopes alive, but Charlotte is on the league's longest winning streak and seems unstoppable. NYCFC should easily earn all three points against DC based on their form, while across town the Red Bulls need all the home points they can get to fend off Chicago and, to an extent, the Revs. TFC vs MTL will just be rivalry vibes so could end up the most fun of all these games. And finally I'm expecting a Philly road win in Cincy, but FCC has been defying all kinds of odds this year.
5:30 pm has Austin vs. San Jose, St. Louis taking on Houston, Kansas City hosting Colorado, Minnesota against Portland, and finally Nashville playing Atlanta. Austin and San Jose will be a very spicy matchup with both teams struggling a little but tied for 8th place in the West (Austin has two games in hand, though.) St. Louis has no realistic path to the playoffs (they're just two points ahead of the Galaxy and they're actually toast) but could end any of Houston's nascent late-season hopes after the Dynamo have been in a nose dive (three points in their last six games). I think Portland will struggle mightily in Minnesota, given the form of these teams and Minnesota just four points off of the Supporters' Shield pace. Nashville should find Atlanta easy pickings at home and a repeat of their 5-1 demolition of a rotated Orlando side seems an achievable goal.
Sunday has only one game, LAFC hosting San Diego at 7:45 pm, I guess making sure there is some post-Leagues Cup Final action for people to watch? I don't really know. This should be a fun one as LAFC tries to take a chunk out of the West leaders with their retooled lineup, but LAFC has just six points in their last five matches and may end up squandering their games in hand.
Thoughts and Players
Defenses
Charlotte – This is a much better team than New England and they’re on a defensive hot streak. The Revs have been shut out at home five times this season, including their last outing against LAFC. Maybe not the strongest shout of the week but a team I'm strongly considering. As usual the best bet here is Adilson Malanda (9.9m).
NYCFC – They are simply a vastly superior squad than DC right now. To their credit, DC has been able to score in seven of their last eight games, including at Charlotte and Columbus. But DC has generated less than 1.0 xG in 9 of their past 14 matches. NYCFC dominated DC on the road this year (2.2 xG vs. 0.9 xG) though that ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw, I expect they will fare even better at home especially given NYCFC's strong form (six wins in their past nine games). The best choice based on season-long and recent form is Justin Haak (8.6m).
Minnesota – As I noted last week, Portland's road form has been poor. Portland did grind out a 0-0 draw against San Diego but a couple of their new attacking players started and failed to make a splash. I think they will need more time to acclimate, but a road game against Minnesota's grind-em-out defense seems like a bad time waiting to happen. Tough to pick a particular defender here, but I guess Michael Boxall (7.9m) has the best recent and season-long average. He seems to be in for most of the clean sheets and picks up a few bonus points here or there. Markanich or Hlongwane are also good choices if you want someone with a high ceiling on their score.
Nashville – They get Atlanta this week, who have been as bad on the road as anyone in the league. Despite Atlanta's massive budget spend, their attackers have not clicked. By xGA Nashville is one of the three strongest teams in the league and their 32 goals allowed is also a top-3 mark on a per-game basis. If you want to bet on one team from Saturday I think it should be Nashville. The best choice here is probably Andy Najar (9.3m).
LAFC – Though I would loathe being forced to pick a defense from this matchup, I think LAFC is slightly more likely to hold than San Diego. Son has already proven his worth and there is no indication there is much you can do to stop him. San Diego also likes possession, and this should play into LAFC's desire to hit Bouanga or Son on the counter. As the home team they should have some extra energy from the crowd as well. I don't really want to pick against Dreyer and Chucky though so choose LAFC at your peril. I think the best choice here is Ryan Hollingshead (8.8m).
Kai Wagner (12.3m) – I don't have a ton of faith that Philadelphia will blank Cincinnati, though lesser defenses have done so. But I do have faith that Wagner will be involved in the attack. A fortunate goal and assist last week but that's because he is a primary option in the attack.
Midfielders
Anders Dreyer (16.1m) – A slight letdown last week with just 5 points, he did put up a nice bonus point floor which was a nice bounce back after not having that against San Jose. Away to LAFC will be tough but Dreyer had eight fantasy points in their home matchup, a good blueprint for success this weekend. The best of the midfielders from the late game.
Hany Mukhtar (16.0m) – Another MVP-worthy performance last weekend as Nashville successfully punished Orlando for rotating. Should be in everyone's team this week at home again against Atlanta.
Evander (15.8m) – It was another mostly quiet game last week for Evander, but his influence was still felt putting up 6 points with no goal contribution. I am more likely to bench Evander than captain him though, especially with a tough Philadelphia defense visiting.
Carles Gil (15.3m) – An extremely disappointing two-point outing despite New England beating Columbus 2-1 on the road. Gil has been much more comfortable at home this year and is always a reasonable option.
Jack McGlynn (13.8m) – Nine points against San Jose was a nice fantasy output even though Houston lost. Their season likely lost along with the match. This week is at St. Louis, an average home team.
Djordje Mihailovic (13.3m) – This will be Djordje's first time on the other side of the TFC/MTL rivalry (he was with MTL in 2021/22), with his new Toronto team hosting. I expect him to be up for it and put up a decent score.
Emil Forsberg (11.1m) – 8.2 average at home, 6.1 removing the two outlier games where NYRB absolutely smashed the Galaxy and the Revs. His road average is 3.7. The Red Bulls are one of the best teams in the league at home and quite poor on the road. So, hosting a fading Columbus team is a big opportunity for the Red Bulls to prove they have what it takes to go deep into the playoffs again.
Maxi Moralez (9.5m) – He's on the best fantasy form of NYCFC's midfielders, scoring 7+ points in three of the past four games. It remains to be seen just how the league minutes settle down as Nico Fernandez gains minutes (so far it has been Wolf subbing out earlier than usual) and any of them could go off. Moralez is in the best form though so if you want NYCFC's midfield he's the odds-on pick. Fernandez could be a fun choice, though it seems he is more of a "pass before the assist" kind of player and not as big of a fantasy scorer.
Owen Wolff (9.4m) – Another goal last week, this one late to secure a point for Austin on the road. Four goals in five games, and next up is San Jose.
Forwards
Sam Surridge (13.2m) – Can this man be stopped? He is in pole position for the Golden Boot. He had a string of down weeks, but at home against Atlanta is as good of a matchup as it gets to get on a hot streak.
Alonso Martinez (12.3m) – He had the game-winner in Cincinnati last week, I think he likely does it again against DC this week.
Chucky Lozano (12.1m) – If you want to bet against LAFC, this is your forward of choice.
Son Heung-min (12.0m) – Immediately showing his quality in the league, his G+/96 (an American Soccer Analysis stat) is comparable to Messi's as a statistical outlier, small sample size be damned. He's the guy you want rather than Bouanga, as his eight bonus points last weekend illustrates. Even if Bouanga had scored the goal Son did, Son still would have outscored him or tied on points.
Eric Choupo-Moting (11.9m) – 7.7 home average, 2.8 road average. Same story as Forsberg, he's a beast at home and a squeaky little mouse on the road.
Rafael Navarro (11.4m) – Okay, so last week did not go as planned at all for Colorado. Weird weeks happen. I think he gets it done this weekend against Kansas City, an even worse team.
Prince Owusu (10.7m) – One of the hottest strikers in the league, he had 10 points last weekend thanks to a goal and some good bonus points. A trip to Toronto will not be intimidating for Montreal, who will likely see the debut of new DP Ivan Jaime.
Captain considerations
Hany Mukhtar – Clear top choice for me, he's having an MVP-caliber season both scoring goals himself and feeding Golden Boot leader Surridge.
Son Heung-min – Immediately one of the best players in the league, he should get plenty of counterattacking opportunities against San Diego. Eight bonus points last week was eye popping and seemingly repeatable for Son.
Evander – I am probably going to bench him, but I have to admit he has one of the highest ceilings every week. Very reasonable choice if you believe.
Alonso Martinez – I think NYCFC will hammer DC on their small field and Martinez will be the big beneficiary.
