Week 1 was a bit of a wild one. LAFC smothered Miami, NYRB blitzed Orlando with a bunch of kids, and the highest scoring player of the week on Sofascore and Kickbase was a SAN JOSE DEFENDER!! San Jose had two defenders in the best XI for fantasy on Sofascore!! Paul Rothrock outscored all but one other attacking player on Sofascore and he came off the bench! Absolute madness.
There were, of course, plenty of normal things happening. Musa and Surridge each had a brace, Bouanga had a G+A and Dreyer had two assists. San Diego did indeed make it ugly against Montreal. Sporting Kansas City was as bad as advertised. New England looked miles away from competing with Nashville, Atlanta was terrible on the road, and Tai Baribo scored in the Philly game.
Actually, wait, sources are telling me he scored against Philly? In a 1-0 win for DC United? Is that allowed?
All that to say that expect more of the unexpected, but don't throw out your priors. Many of the things we knew going into the season are still true. Messi is still the goat and will almost certainly make many MLS defenses look like fools this year. Philadelphia is (probably) still a strong team. Houston (probably) still has plenty of work to do. You (probably) can't count on Dallas and Portland scoring three goals a game on average. But you might. As the weeks go on we'll have to reassess what we knew, and what we thought we knew. Just don't overreact to Week 1 going into Week 2.
NWSL Fantasy will be bringing back their app on March 2nd, so we can dig into that next week.
Week 2 Quick Rankings
Goalkeepers
Brady, Daniel, Takaoka, Sisniega
Defenders
Mbokazi/Barroso, Ricketts, Blackmon/Laborda, Duah/McVey, Arfsten (only on KB)
Midfielders
Müller, Mukhtar, M. Ojeda, Tverskov, Berhalter, Forsberg, McGlynn, Rusnak, Bassett, Budget: Tsakiris, Donkor/Mehmeti
Forwards
Messi, Bouanga/Son, Dreyer, Zinckernagel, Musa, Surridge, Rossi, Cowell, Ferreira
Week 2 schedule
The Good
Chicago starts the week at home against Montreal. Though the Chicago that played in Houston was not likely a playoff team, I expect Berhalter to have his team ready to seize all three points with style against Montreal.
San Jose gets the benefit of playing a visiting Atlanta team that looked as dour against Cincinnati—even with Evander knocked out of the game early—as it had at any point last year. Perhaps Martino still needs time to figure it out or perhaps they are stuck with a lot of mismatched and expensive parts. Either way, San Jose seems like a good bet again.
Columbus plays at Kansas City. This portion of the column is probably going to remain "who is playing MTL/SKC or ATL away" for some time until these teams give any sign of life. Columbus is good enough to score points and isn't likely to drop points in as sad a fashion as they did at Portland last weekend.
Miami at Orlando is a rivalry match and I expect fireworks. Orlando's defense looked pretty rough against NYRB's kids, though only allowing two goals is still better than other teams (i.e., Miami). However, Miami's loss at LAFC was very similar to their loss in the Leagues Cup Final at the Sounders. The home team played compact and organized, got a goal in the first half, then used their midfield advantage to physically disrupt Miami's midfielders and swarm and frustrate Messi. Though Miami dominated stretches of the game with the ball, they produced little of substance and were slashed by counters late in the game. That is not a game plan that always works and is not a game plan that can even be replicated by many, many teams in this league. Orlando certainly is not one of them. Don't be surprised if Messi feasts in this one.
The Important
Minnesota plays Cincinnati this week. Minnesota snatched a solid road point at Austin, with Yeboah showing flashes of why he's a DP. Cincinnati lost Evander for some time due to injury, but easily outmatched Atlanta anyway. Both these teams have high aspirations for this year after last season ended on a disappointing note for each. Cincinnati wants to show it can handle Evander's absence, Minnesota wants to show it can move on successfully from Ramsay-ball. Should be fun.
Nashville at Dallas will be a test of whether Dallas's success last year after parting ways with Acosta can carry over to this season. They ended the season as one of the hottest teams but couldn't turn it into more than that. Nashville is a great team and had just as good a record at home last year as Miami, but their road form kept them down at sixth in the East. If they change that this year, they could challenge for the Shield.
Galaxy vs. Charlotte seems like an enticing matchup. The Galaxy have the talent to be a playoff team again, but they just squeaked by Sporting San Miguelito of Panama on the away goals rule, 1-1 on aggregate and no goals at home. Charlotte struggled against St. Louis but still came out with a 1-1 road draw off of some Kahlina heroics. This one is a toss-up for me.
The Interesting
Red Bulls hosting New England will be a very interesting test of the baby Red Bulls. Their teenagers were very good against Orlando, with Julian Hall bagging a brace. This team could be very fun this year if this is proof of concept for new manager Michael Bradley. But, it was Orlando, and they might not be so great this year. New England has their own new head coach in Marko Mitrovic and will be trying to wash out the taste of their own drubbing by Nashville. Campana had a consolation goal and two of their stars in Gil and Turner were solid, but it remains to be seen whether the rest of the team is good enough for them to be competitive. I'll be watching with interest.
Can Seattle overcome their decade-plus of failures at RSL? I sure hope so! This is certainly the year to do it with an RSL squad in rough shape. I'm not shying away from Seattle players this round, though I may be slightly biased.
LAFC lost last year at Houston. That loss was pre-Son (Giroud started!) but it was also likely a much worse (and much different) Houston team. Seriously, only three total players for Houston from that win over LAFC played in Week 1 of this year: goalscorer McGlynn, Ponce and Sviatchenko. Houston has mostly upgraded across the field, and I won't be surprised if they make it tough for LAFC again. Of course, Bouanga and Son are more than capable of breaking the game, and it seems David Martinez has leveled up as well. This one could be exciting.
Thoughts and Players
Defenses
Chicago - I'm not a huge believer in their defense, but they get Montreal at home. That's an endorsement for almost any defense. I'm not entirely sure what the pecking order is along the backline, but I think Mbokazi and Barroso are locks, with Barroso a budget option. Jake Elliot replaces Rogers if Elliot is healthy, and Waterman likely drops out of the lineup if Berhalter goes to 4-in-the-back.
San Jose - It feels sacrilegious to so heartily endorse San Jose defenders, but this is a Bruce Arena team and Atlanta is completely useless on the road. Going back to 2021, they haven't had more than 19 road points in a season, and last year had just eight (8!). Go for Ricketts over Munie. Munie had the brace after coming up for two set plays, but Ricketts is actually playing as a winger and had a great assist on Judd's goal. Note that though Ricketts occupies a defender slot on Kickbase, he is actually scored as a midfielder based on his position.
Vancouver - They get Toronto this round and have not given up a goal across their games against Cartaginés and RSL. Though they sure took a long time to score and actually take control. Toronto had some good moments against Dallas, sure, but this is more about Vancouver's strength in defense than anyone else in particular. I think you take Blackmon, the standout, or Laborda, who was rested midweek and should be starting against Toronto.
San Diego - I believe in the strength of their defense over St. Louis's offense. Plus, they didn't have to deal with CCC midweek like Vancouver. Duah and McVey should be locks, I have no idea what their outside backs will look like, but if you guess correctly you could earn some nice dividends. Note that Sisniega should be back in goal now that he has served his suspension.
Arfsten (Def/Mid) - He had 125 points on Kickbase despite giving up three goals, good enough for top 25 in defenders on Kickbase. He is a midfielder on Sofascore where his 6 points were not as impressive. On Kickbase, he's likely worth a pick.
Midfielders
Müller - Only played a half midweek, but came in to rescue Vancouver from their 90 scoreless minutes and was immediately dealing. He didn't have a direct hand in either goal, but remained influential in ensuring the win. Should have a strong run out against Toronto.
Mukhtar - On the road but remains as good as ever. Strong choice if you want to spend on him. You can probably find bargains or players with better matchups, but he's rarely going to disappoint.
M. Ojeda (Mid/Fwd) - Very poor outing against NYRB, I expect a bounce back game against Miami. Miami's defense still has major holes and gaps and Ojeda has proven his elite status time and again.
Tverskov - He crushed it last week, easily one of the top mids in the game. Getting to dominate against Montreal helps, but he had a 93% completion rate. 9/11 on duels (80+%), 5 tackles, 5/6 accurate long balls, plus an assist. Defensive mids struggled under the old MLS Fantasy scoring rules, but the bonus points are available for the taking for performances like this. His score was better than or tied with Surridge, Hall and Musa, who all had a brace. Fantastic work.
Berhalter - Continuing the theme of CMs, Berhalter had a fairly high scoring week without even a goal contribution. He scored better than or tied with Gil, Forsberg, McGlynn, Biel, Mihailovic, and Reus, all of whom had a goal or assist! His score was significantly better in some cases! I expect his weekly scoring to be fairly stable and fairly high.
Forsberg - He gets to cook at home with the kids (ironically enough) this week against New England. He has monster scores when his team is hot, and I think this might be one of those weeks.
McGlynn - I think Houston can frustrate LAFC, and McGlynn might end up with a dominant share of possession. You could pick up Guilerme (Mid/Fwd depending on platform), but I want to see if McGlynn keeps scoring or it was a lucky Week 1.
Rusnak - Outside of his goal against Colorado, he wasn't as influential as normal, but he still put up solid points and was very close to another goal on a beautiful ball from Ferreira and some other assists. He'll continue to deliver for Seattle.
Bassett - He's playing back in his home stadium, on the opposite side of the field this time. He seems like an instant and major upgrade for Portland and I think Colorado will regret selling him.
Budget:
Tsakiris - He's playing the 10 for San Jose and seems very exciting. Scored the same as Berhalter in Week 1 on Kickbase. He's ultra cheap and probably a strong part of any fantasy squad that wants to spend highly elsewhere on the roster.
Donkor/Mehmeti - This young pair for NYRB (21/16, respectively) showcased their stuff in Week 1 in taking down Orlando. They looked very good and ready to form the core for NYRB. I don't know if they will keep it up, but they are quite cheap (Mehmedi is $0.7m on Kickbase).
Forwards
I find it hard to make up my mind so I have a lot of options below. However, my top picks are above with some of these choices boiled down to one option.
Messi - He had a poor game against LAFC, especially by his standards, but he'll have a much easier time against Orlando. I also expect Berterame to improve as he gets used to his teammates and MLS. He's maybe not a "must pickup" but I think odds are you'll be sad you missed out if he's not on your team.
Bouanga/Son - Bouanga was the pick last week, though it really can be either of them on any given week. I think Bouanga has been a little better since Son's initial hot streak, but it's close between them.
Dreyer - Weekly entry, I think he's likely to make a strong case for MVP again, especially now that he doesn't have to share the focus with Chucky.
Zinckernagel/Cuypers - They get Montreal at home this week. Zinck didn't start strong, but I am sure he has not lost the quality he showed last year. I like him better this week, though Cuypers is a strong choice as well.
Surridge/Madrigal vs Musa/Farrington - Surridge and Musa had braces last week, while Farrington and Madrigal had a G+A. I think Nashville is the better team, but Dallas is at home. Surridge and Musa are proven commodities, while Madrigal and Farrington are either new or have not been so consistent in the past. I think for now if I had to pick I'd go with Musa as the home squad, but Farrington at his discount is very interesting.
Rossi/Abou Ali - They are at SKC this week, and each of them were quite good against Portland. Rossi is probably the more sure bet, but I think you'll be pleased with either of them.
Hall/Cowell - These young guys dominated against Orlando, with Hall the brace and Cowell racking up bonus points. I think Cowell is the better longer-term play, as Hall may be benched for Choupo-Moting, but it is probably fun to roll with Hall for now and is a great budget pick.
Ferreira - Jesus was absolutely dealing against Colorado and barely missed out on a second "assist." His assist to Rothrock does not count in official records or Sofascore, but it did count on Kickbase, where he's in the top 25 forwards. The main knock against him was he exited in the 69th minute, and this week he has to deal with Seattle's curse at RSL. Still, I think he is a top-10 play this week.
Captain considerations
Messi - He's not going to stay quiet for long.
Bouanga - He's simply unbelievable.
Dreyer - Top-three most likely MVP candidates easily. Decent matchup at home this week too.
Forsberg - I'm not certain he'll even be in the top-10 midfielders this week, but NYRB had some games last year where they completely demoralized and demolished opponents, with Forsberg a major part in that. I could easily see this as a week like that. Sign up for that at your own risk though.
Zinckernagel - He's playing Montreal, not much more needs to be said. Note also he has an early game which makes him a very early captain option on Sofascore.
Ideal XV
I’m trying something new here and putting out my ideal 15-man roster (1-GK, 5-DEF, 5-MID, 4-FWD) irrespective of cost. I know that formation is not legal, but since on Kickbase you can run four forwards with a 4-2-4 I want to have four top options here. If I have specific things to call out, I'll add them here. Otherwise, here's my top team:
Messi, Dreyer, Zinckernagel, Rossi;
Mukhtar, M. Ojeda, Tverskov, Berhalter, Forsberg;
McVey, Barroso, Ricketts, Laborda, Arfsten;
Sisniega.
