Yes, hello friends, we are finally back with more MLS action, and all the fantasy soccer fun that comes with it. We have some games tonight (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday) as MLS muscles into a brief break before the World Cup Final this weekend. And if you are playing Sofascore, next Wednesday's games are bundled into the Gameweek 16 round where everyone plays. On Kickbase, just the six matches these next two days are up for this round, but it all counts the same.
On top of all this, we have a significant amount of movement across the league with some key players leaving or arriving, some getting healthy and some still out after the World Cup. Off the top of my head, a handful of notables with varying fantasy impact:
Gabriel Pec and Diego Rossi have been sold.
Duncan McGuire is now in Houston, Montreal acquired Dani Pereira, RSL got Saba Lobjanidze, San Diego picked up Gabriel Pirani, Daniel is now with Dallas (with Scottish keeper Angus Gunn replacing him in San Jose), Yevhen Cheberko went to LAFC and Nathan Ordaz goes to DC.
Robert Lewandowski was signed by Chicago, and Antoine Griezmann is already scoring for Orlando. Three other new DPs are Bénie Traoré at forward for NYCFC, Allan Saint-Maximin at forward for Charlotte, and Brais Méndez at midfield for Columbus.
And, of course, make sure to pay attention to the Player Status Report as some potential key players like Owusu, Berhalter, and Velde are out for one reason or another.
Week 16 Quick Rankings
Note these are skewed towards Sofascore DGW players. If you are picking just for this week's games make sure to adjust accordingly, though there shouldn't be much difference.
Goalkeepers
Schwake, Thomas, Marcinkowski, Lloris, Brady, Burki
Defenders
Palacios, Ragen, Glesnes, Porteous, Mbokazi, Baumgartl
Midfielders
Mukhtar, Müller, Hartel, Rusnak/Rothrock, Bassett, Mihailovic, Edelman, Tillman/Delgado, Lod
Forwards
Surridge, Espinoza (mid/fwd), Zinkernagel (mid/fwd)/Cuypers, Bouanga, White, Ferreira, Paintsil, Joveljic, Sargent
Week 16/17 Schedule
Since we have a funky setup between the two main fantasy games, I am highlighting the DGW teams for this mini-rivalry week here with little heed for the single-game teams. In my next article we can dive more into next week's games for Kickbase purposes and the weekend games for Sofascore purposes.
7/16 - 4:30 pm Pacific
The week starts with Montreal hosting Toronto at 4:30 pm. This unfortunately means that we'll only have one game's lineups before having rosters lock (remember that Sofascore will lock at 4 pm). It should be a fun one though, as the earlier games involving Toronto have been wild this year. Neither of these teams are any good, though Toronto is returning Djordje Mihailovic from injury who could build on a briefly budding relationship he had with Sargent before a pelvic stress fracture sidelined him.
5:30 pm
The two middle games are Chicago playing Vancouver and St. Louis facing off with Kansas City. The first of these will likely see Lewandowski making his debut for Chicago, and they likely have the edge with Sebastian Berhalter sitting this one out. Of course, Vancouver might still be the best team in the league anyway, so it should be a sharp game. St. Louis was unbeaten in four matches before the break, earning 10 points in that span (bringing their season total to 16) and are certainly the favorites.
7:30 pm
We have the crown jewel of the week with Seattle hosting Portland on natural grass at Lumen Field. I'm expecting fireworks in this one, which is par for the course for Cascadia Cup clashes. Of course, each team has just one win in their past five games and each team will be missing key players in Velde and both Roldan brothers. Still, this rivalry usually brings out the best in both teams regardless of their places in the standings.
7/17 - 5:10 pm
Friday gets started in Nashville as Atlanta comes to visit. Surridge should be back to health and though Atlanta has made some changes, I just don't see them making a game of this one. Perhaps some of Nashville's xG luck will catch up with them, though I doubt it will be against Atlanta as the road team.
7:25 pm
The other starring game of the week has the Galaxy playing LAFC in El Tráfico. With no Pec and no real replacement yet (and no, Robert Taylor doesn't count), you have to bet on LAFC being the winner here. Though they had some serious struggles before the break and it is not clear whether they are anywhere near fixing them, especially if Son continues to play like a shadow of himself.
DGW second games:
Atlanta at Charlotte
Chicago at Miami
Galaxy vs St. Louis
LAFC at RSL
Nashville vs Montreal
Portland vs Dallas
Seattle at Austin
Kansas City vs Minnesota
Toronto at New England
Vancouver at Cincinnati
The Galaxy and Nashville are the only teams with two home games. Atlanta, Toronto, and Vancouver have double away games. Plan accordingly.
Thoughts and Players
Defenses
Nashville - Easiest schedule of the week by far. Load up as many players as you can fit, though you may want two attackers. I like Palacios best, though Woledzi is great and solid, too. Lovitz may play both games at LB and RB is probably going to be Najar, who should be back from injury, with Reed Baker-Whiting filling in for the minutes Najar or Lovitz don't play. If Najar is out (still waiting on the injury report, but he's been full in training so should be okay), then RBW becomes a very good and cost-effective option.
Seattle - Despite their injuries, they still have one of the best defensive records in the league. They had fallen off a bit ahead of the break, but are still one of the strongest choices this week. Go for Ragen, who is a better option than Nouhou. You may be able to go with Lopez or KKR on Kickbase for this match, but on Sofascore there's no guarantee those two will be starting next Wednesday with Yeimar close to a return and the possibility of Alex Roldan being back. I'd say Lopez is about 50/50 to start both and KKR is probably 80-90% likely to start both; you can decide what risk to tolerate.
Galaxy - Two home games gives them a leg up on the competition. Glesnes is the pick here if you want to take one.
LAFC - Like Seattle, they've had more defensive struggles recently, but they still have one of the best goals against records. The unfortunate bit here is that LAFC likes to rotate defenders frequently, so you can easily get skunked by picking incorrectly for the DGW. I think Porteous is most likely to see all the minutes, though Segura and Tafari are close. It remains to be seen what effect, if any, Cheberko has on the rotation and whether it influences them to stick with four or five in the back. Also, I think Lloris should be back, but you'll want to check the injury report if you can.
Chicago - They have allowed the fifth fewest goals in the league and get to avoid Berhalter and likely will avoid Messi and RDP when they travel to Miami. Vancouver can score in bunches without Berhalter, and Miami is plenty dangerous on their own, but it might be worth rolling the dice on Mbokazi, though it can be worthwhile to spend extra for Elliott or Gutman.
St. Louis - They host SKC in an earlier game, a potentially lopsided matchup. They have two shutouts in their four games prior to the break and also beat LAFC. SKC has finally shown signs of life, but St. Louis has the better roster and is playing at home. Though I like Fallou Fall a lot, I am not sure what his minutes will look like, so suggest Baumgartl, with Totland likely having similar minutes with a lower floor and higher ceiling.
Midfielders
Mukhtar - I'm sure you know him well enough already that I don't have to sell him to you. One of the must-own options this week, I am convinced.
Müller - A boom or bust option, his two road games will be tough but he's had some of the biggest games of anyone this year.
Hartel - He's become an elite option again. Very reasonable games and is affordable.
Rusnak/Rothrock - They are more boom/bust options, prone to disappearing in games that aren't going through them, but having plenty of explosive games when the script favors them. I like Rusnak better based on his overall track record, though Rothrock has scored well and is more affordable.
Bassett - The star of Portland's midfield, he's got a high-ish floor with some standout matches.
Mihailovic - He should be full back now, and he has one of the highest ceilings going forward if Toronto can figure out how to play around Sargent.
Edelman - Great budget option, he's had some strong games for St. Louis lately and has had a nice floor most of the year.
Tillman/Delgado - I don't know that either of them are particularly strong options given their overall fantasy performances this year, but if you want an LAFC midfielder, these are your choices. LAFC has a pretty reasonable schedule going forward so this could be a good time to take them for Sofascore.
Lod - He was on a strong run of form and could get a boost with Lewandowski warping fields, though minutes could be a big issue if he's the odd man out. Risky option with a high ceiling.
Evander (Sofa) - Basically the only non-DGW player to consider on Sofascore. He scores plenty high enough and is someone you'll keep in your team beyond this week. They're playing Vancouver though, so it will be a tough matchup.
Forwards
Surridge - Yeah, top pick.
Espinoza (mid/fwd) - Decidedly a step below Surridge as an option, he's still had games where the Nashville attack goes through him and he outscores everyone else. Potentially an affordable way to own part of the Nashville attack.
Zinckernagel (mid/fwd)/Cuypers - I would like to believe they get a boost from Lewandowski, Zinck moreso than Cuypers, rather than Lewandowski ruining what they've got going. Remains to be seen.
Bouanga - Good schedule and should be in top form. You can take Son if you want but I think Bouanga is the pick.
White - Two road games is tough but he's got at least one goal in him coming up.
Ferreira - I like to think he's poised for a breakout with some top fantasy scores incoming. That may be homerism and cope, but we'll see.
Paintsil - With Pec gone and Klauss injured, the Galaxy will have to rely on Paintsil in the final third even more.
Joveljic - If Kansas City are to succeed this week it will be through him. They've got two cracks at it. Reasonable differential if you're desperate.
Sargent - Possibly the bottom of players I think are reasonable considerations. Should get a boost with Mihailovic back, though two road games makes it tough.
Captain Considerations
Muktar/Surridge - I'd strongly advise picking one of these two.
Bouanga - Between El Tráfico and a follow-up home game, he could explode this week.
Hartel - Hard to imagine him totally flopping this week, he's got a similar ceiling to other top choices.
Müller - He's got a very low floor, but has a higher ceiling than most if Vancouver does well.
