This week I made another appearance on the MLS Fantasy Insider podcast, which you can watch here. It was a fun conversation about the different fantasy platforms, a recap of last week, and our thoughts and recommendations about the week to come. Most of my advice in this column is already summed up in the podcast, so feel free to listen to that instead.
This should be a relatively normal week, with the exception of some possible rotation (and likely tired legs) from the four Leagues Cup squads.
Week 22 Quick Rankings
Goalkeepers
Pantemis, Lloris, Hansen, Thomas, Schwake, Bond, Dos Santos, Takaoka
Defenders
Surman, Porteous, Williams, Hawkins, Woledzi, Resch, Duah, Polvara (KB), Laborda, Wagner
Midfielders
Evander, Gil, Biel, Mukhtar, Pererya, Müller, Da Costa, Edelman, McGlynn, Aaronson (KB), Pirani
Forwards
Messi, Griezmann, Owusu, Guilherme (*), Nico, Bouanga, Velde, White, Luighi, Surridge/Espinoza, Joveljic
Week 22 schedule
The first thing to note is that four teams had Leagues Cup games midweek – Chicago and RSL played Tuesday, while Austin and Columbus playing Wednesday. All four had poor showings, as Chicago lost at home and the other three were shut out and lost by multiple goals. I would not expect any of them to have particularly strong showings this weekend.
This week starts with Seattle hosting Chicago at 1:30 pm Pacific, so unfortunately we're going into the full night slate a little blind. It should be a fun game though, as long as Chicago makes an effort in this one. They may rotate as it is a road game against an out-of-conference foe who has been playing poorly of late and this is the fourth week in a row that Chicago has a double-game week. Zinckernagel and Lewandowski both played 90 on Tuesday against Monterrey and I could see one or both starting this one on the bench.
There are two Sunday games: Columbus against New England and St. Louis vs Dallas.
Looking ahead to the following week, Vancouver and Montreal play in BC for the Canadian Championship semifinals. I doubt either team rotates ahead of that match, but it is a possibility. Also note that next week's games start on Friday at 4:30 pm Pacific.
The Good
Miami hosts Montreal this weekend, and with a win Miami would have more than double Montreal's points on the season. Montreal is undefeated in four games while Miami is winless in four, but these teams met a month ago in Montreal in a 1-0 win for Miami. I am expecting Miami to get back to their winning ways.
Vancouver visits SKC, who are going through a transformational process, selling off their best player in order to stockpile resources for bringing in ones they hope are even better. They are an extreme work in progress, while Vancouver showed their quality last weekend by smoking Dallas, 5-0. I would not be surprised in the least to see a similar result in this one.
Portland is home against Austin, who just got ripped on the road against Toluca. Austin's lone road win this season was against a battered Seattle side at their nadir (hopefully). I expect Portland to put up numbers in this one.
The Contested
Atlanta and Charlotte play in the early slate, an intriguing game to me as Atlanta have won three in a row. Atlanta's $5m U-22 defender Tomás Jacob is coming good, Almiron is in form, and 20-year-old Adrian Gill is up from the second team and locking down the defensive midfield. I don't know that Atlanta is Back, but I am suddenly quite interested in how they perform against 5th place Charlotte.
San Diego is home this week against the Galaxy, a soft rivalry match between the 11th and 12th teams in the West. San Diego is on the ascent though since the World Cup break, with 10 points from six games against Western Conference opponents (and all but Minnesota are playoff sides at the moment) plus two wins in Leagues Cup. They are playing more like what was expected from them to coming into the season. The Galaxy have just six points in seven games since the break, in no small part because they have received red cards in four of those games.
Dallas plays at St. Louis, with the two sides tied for fourth in the West on 33 points. These teams have soared up the standings as other squads faltered. Dallas is led by Musa's league-leading 16 goals while St. Louis has had much more of an attack-by-committee, getting it done more with defense. I expect St. Louis at home to have the advantage, but it should be a fun game regardless.
Thoughts and Players
Defenses
Portland - While the defense has not been the best this year, Pantemis is really liked by fantasy systems and Surman has been a beast. I would not be surprised to see him sold in the near future for a mint.
LAFC - Though their recent results have been poor, I am not a DC believer and I still think LAFC has a top-tier defense. Hence my Porteous pick.
Colorado - They're at home against RSL, who had a horrible home loss, 3-0 against León. These teams are tied in the standings, but RSL has been falling precipitously. I like Williams here but others are viable.
Seattle - Homer pick, but I do think Seattle is on its way to getting back to form with the addition of Joveljić and the good result on the road against Cincinnati. I do wish they would consider sticking with the 5-4-1 that worked in that game to limit Cincinnati to just 12 box entry passes despite having 121 passes in Seattle's third. Still, I understand Hawkins is in line for another start in place of Ragen. He's developing into an aerial threat in the box with a goal already and is a tidy enough passer to warrant the pick. Go with KKR if you want a higher upside pick, with the understanding he could be yanked early if Cristian Roldan subs into the game and Alex Roldan moves over to RB.
Nashville - They have a commanding 9-point lead in the Supporters’ Shield race in no small part due to their great defense. Any of their starters is worthwhile, though Woledzi has been a bit more dependable.
Houston - The Dynamo had an excellent grindy road win in Vancouver then a slight letdown of a loss at St. Louis. They look like a top team, while San Jose looks anything but these days. Resch is the pick as Halter is suspended.
San Diego - As noted above, San Diego is ascendant, but really the biggest part is how good Duah has been on the field and in fantasy.
Vancouver - A road match at SKC for a strong defense is a totally fine place to pick, especially since Joveljić is no longer with the Sporks. As usual I like Laborda but Ocampo has been extremely good lately.
Wagner - An every week consideration with his offensive capabilities. No assists in his last five games but they can come in bunches.
Polvara (KB) - He's a midfielder on Sofascore where his scores are fairly weak, but as a defender on Kickbase he is putting in extremely good shifts as a left wingback.
Midfielders
Evander - A tier of his own, you should own him every week when he's healthy.
Gil, Biel, Mukhtar - You usually have to find a reason not to take these guys (budget is the most likely reason) on any given matchday. They all have great matchups this week, so you probably want to start here. I'd also consider some of the Sofascore-only mids here, like Guilherme and Nico Fernandez.
Pererya - On Sofascore last week, I had him for his bad home game against Atlanta, then got impatient and transferred him out for his road game where he went off. Sometimes that's just the way it goes.
Müller - Extremely high upside play on the road against SKC.
Da Costa - Great matchup at home against Austin. He's becoming the kind of talisman Portland hoped for (though it’s still a shadow of the impact Evander had on the game). And he's delivering fantasy results.
Edelman - Budget friendly St. Louis midfielder, he doesn't have the high scores of many others but for the price will give you results.
McGlynn - Great player with good results lately driving Houston on their run to the top of the table.
Aaronson (KB) - An opportunity to run over RSL, Aaronson has had some very strong games lately on Kickbase. His counting stats aren't as gaudy so his Sofascore performance has not been as strong, but he's still probably worth a look.
Pirani - Super budget friendly option who has immediately made himself a key piece for San Diego at left midfield. I'm not sure he'll maintain the same momentum, but I am paying close attention.
Forwards
Messi - He's healthy; pick against him at your own risk.
Griezmann - He's elite.
Owusu - Miami's defense is quite bad, allowing multiple goals in basically all their games lately. Though one exception was a clean sheet in Montreal. Owusu is in form though.
Guilherme (*) - He was held out last weekend for injury, though he hadn't appeared on the injury report. He is not on the injury report this week either, but it may be a risk to take him. You’ll have to decide if that’s a gamble worth taking.
Nico Fernandez - Not as dominant lately, but still a key player for NYC and worth more than $25m apparently.
Bouanga - He had three incredible games coming out of the World Cup break and some disappointing ones since then (including a rest game at Colorado). Maybe not a first choice for me, but worth considering and I wouldn't criticize you for picking him.
Velde - Home against Austin coming off a midweek match, I like him as somewhat of a differential.
White - Healthy again and playing SKC this week. He has his explosive games, though a low floor.
Luighi - NYC's excellent new center forward, he should be starting again this match with Talles Magno out for injury.
Surridge/Espinoza - Cincy's defense is notably weak, and these guys can be great choices every match. Espinoza gets a boost on Kickbase where his playmaking can be rewarded even if his counting stats are not as strong.
Joveljić - Mild homer pick, but I think he'll be a strong choice at home against Chicago missing their best CB and coming off a tough midweek match. He's fit and should be good for 90 minutes off the bat.
Captain Considerations
Messi - Always.
Müller - One of the highest ceilings this week, though his floor is not as high as others.
Evander - Cincinnati will likely need 2-3 goals to beat Nashville, if they are going to put up a fight it will be through Evander.
Gil - Road game for him, but Columbus is deservedly at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They did have a fine match in a very hostile environment against América, but the 2-0 scoreline rightly reflected the better team. New England is rested and a much better squad.
