I am guilty of one of the cardinal sins in fantasy sports: homerism. I am certain that the Sounders will crush their opponents every week, and both top-tier starters and depth will be some of the best at their positions. It is a fault I acknowledge and embrace, as I find it much more fun when my fantasy interests and actual game interest coincide.
But not this week. The Sounders have an actual bye week, so you and I are freed from have to choose between divided loyalties and interests. In a way, this is nice. Trying to objectively analyze the Sounders is one of my worst parts of the week. On the other hand, getting to root for our players is much more fun.
Because, at the end of the day, that's what this is all about, isn't it? Having fun? I think we all have more fun when we are doing well, instead of making mistakes or missing out on things that others foresaw. But it is also fun when you get to have your own players out there scoring for your team and your fantasy squad.
Week 7 Quick Rankings
Goalkeepers
Daniel, Ferree, Collodi, Turner, Schulte, Brady
Defenders
Munie, Ceballos, Gutman, McVey, Urhoghide, Arfsten (D/M) (KB)/Zawadski (Sofa)
Midfielders
Berhalter, Biel, Tsakiris/Leroux, Guilherme (M/F), Aaronson, Tverskov, Bamba, Nico Fernandez (M/F)
Forwards
Messi, Musa, Abou Ali/Rossi, Dreyer, Hall, Judd, Sargent, Bouanga(?)
Week 7 schedule
Bye: Seattle & RSL, game rescheduled to preserve the natural grass installed in Lumen Field/Seattle Stadium ahead of the World Cup, with the addition of the CCC match against Tigres next week.
Nashville and LAFC are on the road in CCC on Tuesday, plus the Galaxy have their home CCC match on Wednesday, so be careful with those teams. Also note that some teams have Open Cup starting this week, though I don't expect anyone to rotate ahead of those early-round matches.
The Good
Toronto hosts Cincinnati this week. Toronto has been up and down in terms of fantasy output, but Cincy has been extremely generous recently in defense. They look like they expected to be dominant this year but have no organization across the field, so are mentally checked out. Toronto could very easily score another three goals, even without some crazy defensive mistakes, though they will be missing Mihailovic for a couple of months due to a pelvic stress fracture.
San Jose plays at SKC this week. SJ already beat up SKC for a 3-0 win at home and generally looks to be among the league's elite squads this year, with a punishing defense and a creative attack. Meanwhile, SKC is capable of creating magic through Joveljic, but as a team they lack the quality to be competitive through 90 minutes.
Columbus is the beneficiary of hosting Orlando this weekend. Will Orlando stay on pace to give up 13o goals this year? Can they make it to 150? Let's find out!
The Interesting
Montreal hosts Philadelphia in an important match for the Wooden Spoon race. Montreal and Orlando are on three points, while Philly still has zero. Philly can tie it all up or Montreal can move a little ahead. These kinds of nonsense games can be very lucrative for fantasy points if you can guess which team is going to do better. Philadelphia's underlying numbers are not awful, but they have deserved their position on the table with their poor play on both ends of the pitch. It should be a fun one.
New England plays DC, with these teams currently in the play-in spot in the East. They each have flaws but have picked up points recently. New England has shown signs of an offensive flourishing, beating Cincy 6-1 and Montreal 3-0, but DC has generally been difficult to score on, though their lack of offense has cost them a lot of points and losing 4-0 at home to Dallas doubled their goals conceded total. It is hard for me to gauge whether either of these teams will be able to maintain a playoff pace.
San Diego gets Minnesota at home this week. SD has had a dramatic fall-off after their sterling start to the season, getting only two points in their past three league games and crashing out of CCC competition. Minnesota are coming off a 2-1 road win against the Galaxy after some disappointing results that earned just one point in three games. Will San Diego return to form and show why many expected them to be a top tier team in the West? Or have the wheels fallen off?
The 6-Pointers
Charlotte hosts Nashville in a battle of third vs first in the East. I expect Nashville will be significantly rotated ahead of their CCC road trip. This could be easy points for Charlotte, but they have not been as convincing when it is 11v11. And Nashville has proven their depth can get it done, with their stars coming off the bench to close out games for points. It will be an interesting game to watch.
The Red Bulls are visiting Miami this week, in perhaps the toughest test of the young team's season. NYRB failed the test at Charlotte, falling to 0-2 then 1-6 after a 52nd minute red card. But they have talent and quality, and their midfield engines could be enough to dominate possession against Miami and make Messi try to beat them singlehandedly. He might just do so anyway.
Finally, we have the marquee matchup of the week, 2nd in the West Vancouver hosting 2nd in the East NYCFC. Can NYCFC's playmakers show they are an elite squad? They didn't quite have enough juice to get points at home against Miami or beat St. Louis, so I expect Vancouver to be the winners here. But strange things happen and Vancouver has not always been good enough at home.
Thoughts and Players
Defenses
San Jose - They are on the road, but the defense is elite and they are playing SKC. Go for Munie.
New England - DC is having a lot of trouble scoring – their four goals on the season is tied with Philly for fewest in the league. The only team with less xG than DC is SKC (4.6). Ceballos is the pick, though Fofana is also good.
Chicago - They have a surprisingly strong defense and Atlanta is a notoriously bad road team. Gutman is the easy pick.
San Diego - I know I spoke poorly about them above, but I think they will find the game much easier at home against Minnesota, a little farther removed from CCC and international duty and with McVey back. Duah is suspended, but I think McVey is really the key to their defense.
Dallas - Strong defense and playing St. Louis. I think StL is better than their record suggests, but Dallas has a good defense this year. A key player for them, on the field and in fantasy, has been Urhoghide.
Columbus - I am not super certain about Columbus's defense generally, but I expect Arfsten (KB) to be worthwhile this week attacking Orlando's defense. If you're on Sofa, then go with Zawadski (Sofa).
Midfielders
Berhalter - He was the late hero against Portland despite having a kind of so-so game before his late winner. Seriously, on Kickbase he gained over 130 points on that goal alone (+90 midfielder goal, +5 team goal, +12 shot on goal, +10 long range shot bonus, +15 game won), more than half his end total of 241 points. Still, it is this danger along with his midfield yeoman's work that has made him such a high-scoring midfielder (#1 OR on KB, #4 OR on Sofa).
Biel - He'll likely have a chance to attack Nashville's depth, which puts him in a great spot for the week. Note that Zaha is out on yellow card accumulation (5 yellows in six weeks lol) so Biel will have to do it on his own, more or less (he can).
Tsakiris/Leroux - Tsakiris finally got on the scoresheet last week in a HUGE way, while Leroux has been the key fantasy player for most of the season. Take advantage of them facing SKC.
Guilherme (M/F) - Colorado is missing two outside backs to reds and Steffen has been a disaster this year. Guilherme is meanwhile pushing the top of the charts in fantasy. It is a road game at altitude, but I like him anyway.
Aaronson - On the other hand, Colorado's offense has been strong and should be at relatively full strength, while Houston has been vulnerable at times.
Tverskov - Three straight poor weeks for Tverskov, but he's such an integral part of SD's gameplan I think he gets back on track this week.
Bamba - Atlanta coming to town? I like his odds of staying hot.
Nico Fernandez (M/F) - It will be tough sledding on the road against Vancouver but they have not been invincible lately. Sticking with the talent could be a great move.
Forwards
Messi - Of course. He scores a little better on Kickbase where all his activity is rewarded, but he still got his goal last week. He's scored in 4/5 league games this year, which is about as good a track record as you'll find.
Musa - He's scored in 4/6 league games and has seven total goals to go with it, even with just playing a half against Houston. Playing at home this week, he's a top play.
Abou Ali/Rossi - Forwards playing against Orlando. Abou Ali is the top pick but Rossi can also score in bunches.
Dreyer - Keeping up the theme, I think Dreyer gets back to business this week. I can't recommend him as strongly as some other options, but he is too good for this to be some transformed SD team that is going to be league-average or worse.
Hall - Miami have just two clean sheets on the year, and he is ultra cheap and very good. Worth a spot, especially if you are budget strapped.
Judd - Forward going up against SKC. He's been the workman for SJ and has played his role quite well. I think eventually Werner will be the guy to own, but he's already dealing with a knock and just doesn't quite seem to have the fitness yet or familiarity with the squad.
Sargent - He's playing Cincinnati this week, massive opportunity for him to follow up his G+A last week in a "normal" game. I'd be much more enthusiastic about him if Mihailovic was not injured, though.
Bouanga? If you're confident about any of the LAFC forwards starting, like Bouanga, they have got to be a strong pick playing Portland.
Captain considerations
Messi - Pick him.
Abou Ali - Forward playing against Orlando is basically the best position in the league right now.
Tsakiris - Maybe chasing points a bit but SKC is also a good team to target.
Gutman (Sofa) - Chicago seems likely for a shutout and Gutman gets to attack the Atlanta defense. Great spot to be in, though he'll be even better if Cuypers can play.
Finest Fifteen
Messi - Abou Ali - Rossi - Sargent (Yes, I'm double dipping)
Berhalter - Biel - Tsakiris - Guilherme - Bamba
Gutman - Arfsten - Munie - Ceballos
Daniel - Schulte
