The week gets off to a hot start with NYCFC facing RBNY this afternoon/evening and goes out to a trailing DGW with Seattle playing RSL next Wednesday. So, we have two teams on DGW, but neither with particularly strong results recently or particularly fruitful fantasy players. I'll take a look at some of the options from both squads and the highlights from the rest of the league.
Week 26 quick rankings
Goalkeepers
Thomas (DGW), Burki, Schwake, Kahlina, Blake
Defenders
Nouhou (DGW), Polvara (KB)/Totland (Sofa), Woledzi, Kessler, Pierre, Caliskan (Def/Mid)
Midfielders
Evander, Sullivan, Guilherme (Mid/Fwd), Velde (Mid/Fwd), Gil, Tsakiris, Nico Fernandez (Mid/Fwd), Biel, Rusnak (DGW), Lobzhanidze (Mid/Fwd) (DGW)
Forwards
Messi, Navarro, Damiani, Griezmann, Bouanga, Musa, Surridge, Morris (DGW)
Week 26 schedule
The first highlight is NYCFC and RBNY playing this afternoon/evening. Rosters lock at 4:00 pm Pacific/4:30 pm Pacific, so get your changes in now. You might be able to wait until the injury report for tomorrow hits, but it'll be a tight window. NYC has some hot attackers recently, despite their poor form in actual results, so you might want to check them out now.
The next highlights are the two DGW teams. Seattle plays at Colorado and then home against RSL. Seattle has actually had some success on the road to Colorado (while they are putrid at RSL, for some reason) and Colorado is coming off a midweek US Open Cup match that they lost 3-0 at home to St. Louis. RSL opens their week at home against Vancouver, who is also coming off a loss in the Canadian Cup midweek against Montreal (note: Gauld and Müller played every minute of that loss and could be rested this weekend). Then Seattle hosts RSL in Seattle. Both teams are in the midst of major slumps – the last time either team won in league play was May 13/16. Still, there may be some value to be had here as DGWs present two bites at the apple, enough for plenty of guys to score amongst the league leaders at their position for the week.
Philadelphia plays at SKC this week, so it’s a good time to load up on their attackers.
San Jose seem hot again and get to play LAFC, who are also in a massive slump, having just lost to SKC. I would not blame you for loading up on them, and Tsakiris seems like he might be a must own again.
Portland plays Atlanta at home. ATL got a road clean sheet at DC, but Portland's attack is miles better than DC’s.
St. Louis is amongst the hottest teams in the league and faces Toronto this week. Toronto has had some better results lately, beating Miami and Nashville in recent weeks, but I expect them to remain outside of playoff contention absent Josh Sargent going nuclear.
Miami is home against San Diego, who have to go cross-country again. They fared poorly against Orlando a few weeks ago and I expect Miami to present a tougher test. SD had been streaking but now have three losses in a row. I have no idea how to evaluate this team.
Dallas is home against Austin. After getting thumped by Vancouver, Dallas has gone on a nice 4-game unbeaten streak. Austin has climbed over Seattle to 13th in the West and are on their own nice 6-game unbeaten streak in league play, with wins over each Cascadia team. I expect Dallas to take this one but could see Austin putting up a nice fight.
Thoughts and Players
Defenses
Seattle (DGW) - Double game week and, though I am not expecting too much at Colorado necessarily, a DGW can be great for the players getting consistent bonus points. I think Nouhou is the best choice this week, as he is nailed in the lineup and the other spots could go to anyone. Hawkins or A. Roldan are the next two viable options, but with Ragen getting healthy and Kim ready to step in, it's tough to predict what the rotations will be this week.
Colorado - They have a ton of home CS and are playing one of the weakest offenses in the league lately in Seattle. Take Williams.
St. Louis - I like their chances hosting Toronto. I think I like Polvara (KB) or Totland (Sofa) depending on platform.
Nashville - Too good to ignore even up against Chicago's strong attack. Woledzi scores great anyway, so he’s still a great choice.
Charlotte - I like them to beat up on DC. The guy lately has been Kessler.
Philadelphia - Pierre is just so good. There's a reason he's going to be with the national team at his age. Westfield and Harriel are great as well and Westfield is also getting the call. What a turnaround this squad has had this year.
Caliskan (Def/Mid) (DGW) - One of the only fantasy-viable players for RSL, he's a defender on Sofa and Midfielder on Kickbase. I wouldn't take anyone else as a defender for RSL given their track record.
Midfielders
Evander - I know he's at Houston and has had some disappointing games recently, but he's bounced back from everything else before.
Sullivan - He's a must-own player right now and gets to play at SKC before leaving for national team duty. Take him while he's around.
Guilherme (Mid/Fwd) - He's hot again and playing Cincinnati's terrible defense.
Velde (Mid/Fwd) - He's also hot and playing Atlanta at home. He could have another huge week.
Gil - Home against the Orlando defense, should be a strong pick as usual.
Tsakiris - He's kinda back? Cost effective and often elite option.
Nico Fernandez (Mid/Fwd) - I like him at home against NYRB and have probably been ignoring him too much lately.
Biel - Playing at DC won't be the easiest, but he's still a top-tier choice.
Rusnak (DGW) - He gets the double, and I think should have at least a G+A between these games.
Lobzhanidze (Mid/Fwd) (DGW) - Another double, you could swing for the fences with him as he's had some great games, but he’s extremely inconsistent and scores terribly in many games.
Forwards
Messi - [redacted]
Navarro - He's been an incredible signing for St. Louis already. Fits like a glove into their game plan.
Damiani - He's being fed by Sullivan and plays at SKC this week. Not a normal recommendation but could be very good.
Griezmann - Not as hot last week, but still got a goal. Light work.
Bouanga - The only guy on LAFC who is still producing. This is maybe not an ideal play at SJ, but SJ's defense is not what it was earlier this year.
Musa - Home this week against Austin. I like him.
Surridge - I guess he's back to scoring? I'll take it.
Morris (DGW) - He's looked very dangerous recently, with an assist against LA and a goal scored that was just maybe a shoulder offside. He gets the benefit of a DGW and Joveljić clearing space for him midweek when he departs to play with Serbia. I think he's worth the risk, though his floor is pretty low as he does not get many touches.
Captain considerations
Messi - He's the goat.
Rusnak - If you want to go for a DGW captain, he's the one I'd pick above all others.
Sullivan - Playing at SKC? He could have another monster week.
Guilherme - Consistent and playing Cincinnati's defense at home.
