Thank you all for sticking around the full year for my thoughts and suggestions for MLS fantasy. I hope you are ready for one more week, plus a few more as a bonus? Sofascore's game rolls into the playoffs and I expect that Kickbase will have its own playoff fantasy offerings as well, so if you haven't had enough or have more moves to make in the standings, you'll get some more chances.
This weekend there is obviously a lot on the line for many teams, with a set in the West hoping to make the cutoff and plenty of playoff teams jockeying for positioning, and a handful just looking to play spoiler or send off their fans with an entertaining game. It's possible we see a few funky lineups, but that shouldn't stop you from going for the best players available. My only real advice this week is maybe don't overthink it (like I've been guilty of lately, in addition to being continually let down by the Sounders). Good luck!
Matchday 34 Quick Rankings
Goalkeepers
Toklomati, Bond, Thomas, Schwake, Daniel, Blake
Defenders
Laborda, Halter, Ragen, Woledzi, Markanich, Urhoghide, Wagner
Midfielders
Evander, Gauld, Chambost, Velde, Gil, Almiron, Rusnak, Biel, Lobzhandize, Guilherme (M/F)(*)
Forwards
Messi, Griezmann, White, Turgeman, Toklomati, Guilavogui, Klauss, M. Ojeda (M/F), Bouanga
Matchday 34 schedule
No byes this week, we have a split schedule with all the Eastern Conference home teams playing at 4 pm Eastern and all the Western Conference home teams kicking off at 4 pm Pacific. So, while it is nice to have a clean split between matches, we don't have a fun staggered schedule like many weeks. Should be a fun day of games.
Best bets
Vancouver at Montreal. The lone Western/Eastern cross match has Vancouver traveling to Montreal. Vancouver has very little to play for in this game, having locked up the #1 seed in the West. The only real effect here for Vancouver would be ensuring they would have home field advantage in an eventual MLS Cup Final over everyone in the East besides Nashville (a loss would mean Miami and/or NE could pass them with a win of their own). Meanwhile, Montreal is at risk of "earning" the Wooden Spoon with a loss and an SKC win. While I think Vancouver will rest some key players like Müller, they should still have the quality to beast in this one.
Philadelphia plays Toronto, hopefully with Cavan Sullivan back to health. He was "good to go" for their last game but was on the bench. If he's back to 100% I don't see much hope for Toronto here, especially since this game is meaningless for them. Philadelphia doesn't have a win in their past four games but Cavan has been absent the past three, and I don't think that's a coincidence.
Questionable but Intriguing
Seattle hosts an LAFC team that is 100% locked into 6th place in the West. LAFC can't move up with a win and can't move down with a loss, so they will truly be going through the motions and don't have anything to play for other than pride, spoiling Seattle's season, and maybe slight positioning for MLS Cup seeding (though they best they can do is outpace 6th-9th in the East). Meanwhile, Seattle is in desperation mode, needing a result and a bit of help to just make the playoffs. It is a doable task – a win or draw along with a draw or loss, depending, from the Galaxy, Timbers, or Rapids would do it. However, with how badly Seattle has played the last handful of matches in winnable games and how much I anticipate Seattle might play into LAFC's preferred game plan of hitting on the counter through Bouanga and Son (and now Walta and Sieb), this could get ugly for the hosts. On the other hand, if Seattle performs like they are capable of doing, this could be a 3-0 win for Seattle without much trouble. Which Seattle team will we get? Your guess is as good as mine.
Chicago gets Columbus this weekend. Both are in the playoffs, but Chicago will want to maintain their spot at fourth (they can't move up to third) so they can host Charlotte, while Columbus will be pushing to avoid the play-in game. Columbus is one of the hottest teams in the league after their midseason retooling, and Chicago is maybe back in their stride after some struggles making it work with Lewandowski. I'm very intrigued with this one.
Houston is against St. Louis this week, with St. Louis in a major slump and Houston putting up some uninspiring results lately (their win in Seattle notwithstanding). The teams are tied on points and wins, with a big GD gap, and either could end up in 3rd in the West or get stuck in 5th and at a hosting disadvantage. Houston needs a win to move up while St. Louis just needs a draw to hold the advantage over Houston going into the playoffs. While this one certainly could be testy, it is more of a preview of the next round in the playoffs.
Orlando hosts New England. Orlando's nearly historically bad defense (78 GA) has somehow not stopped them from making the playoffs, largely due to their excellent offense. They will be trying to jump out of the play-in round, which would require a loss from Cincy and loss or tie from Columbus along with their own win. It is doable, but the Revolution won't make it easy. Taking a Revs attacker is totally reasonable this week.
Thoughts and Players
Defenses
Vancouver - Great team against a bad team. Not a ton to play for, but I think you have to hand it to the Vancouver defense. Laborda is usually the pick for good reason but any of the starters are fine.
Houston - With St. Louis slumping, I think you might be able to reasonably take Houston defense despite their own struggles lately. Halter got a "lucky" goal on a corner against Seattle but even besides that has otherwise had good scores.
Seattle - I don't know if they're the best pick, but Ragen continues to put up fantasy scores and LAFC doesn't really have anything to play for. I am very homeringly anticipating Seattle take care of business to make the playoffs (with the hope that at least one other squad drops the ball).
Nashville - Too good to ignore even on the road at Cincinnati, with just the points record to play for. Woledzi is another who is playable regardless of any clean sheet or matchup.
Markanich - He's still an offensive weapon and they have SJ coming to town. Not the easiest matchup, but Minnesota still has their own playoff hopes if they win and get help.
Dallas - Home against Colorado should be a reasonable game for Dallas, and Urhoghide is another whose week-to-week consistency is worth the investment.
Philadelphia - Pick up Wagner for this game and I think you'll be pleased.
Midfielders
Evander - Ignore him to your detriment (it's me, I've been hurt very detrimentally recently trying to play around him).
Gauld - The Scottish Messi has been a massive addition to Vancouver these past couple of months now that he's healthy.
Chambost - I'm not entirely sure why, but he's been one of the hottest attackers in the league lately. Santi Rodriguez might be the more stable option, but Chambost has been sublime in the past handful of games.
Velde - Performing like a top-tier DP for Portland, he'll be a primary reason they make the playoffs if they take care of business at Austin. Da Costa has had some very fine games recently as well.
Gil - Playing Orlando is a recipe for success for offenses, and Gil can benefit more than most.
Almiron - Atlanta plays at NYRB, whose defense has been putrid lately. Neither squad has much to play for, but Almiron has still been delivering in fantasy even if the team's results have been lackluster.
Rusnak - I expect Seattle to have a lot of the ball and Rusnak is at this best when the team has time to sit in the attack and set up plenty of set pieces. I’m not 100% confident in him but I think/hope some people will be very pleased with this performance.
Biel - Playing at Miami is not as easy as it once was with Miami's relatively settled defense, but I think Biel has the quality to unlock them.
Lobzhandize - Home versus the Galaxy with a chance for the playoffs on the line, he's stepped up in some recent games and could be a nice differential play.
Guilherme (M/F) (*) - He's been out injured for the past two games, but he's unmissable if he's starting in this game. Caution is necessary given his injury, but I'd absolutely want him if he's good for 60-80 minutes.
Forwards
Messi - Despite some down games, I will take him until he retires. Nice bounce back last game.
Griezmann - There is no lack of quality here.
White - Two very good games and he gets to play at Montreal this game. Strong choice.
Turgeman - I've danced around recommending him lately, but his recent games plus a match at Orlando are great reasons to pick him up.
Toklomati - Not as good last weekend against Orlando, but I think he's got a good matchup against Miami.
Guilavogui - He had a string of very strong games then sat out against SJ for yellow card accumulation. Now RSL is back at home against the Galaxy with a playoff spot on the line and he should be right back to his starting spot. I am very intrigued.
Klauss - A goal machine when the Galaxy are playing decently. I’m not sure he'll get it done, but if the Galaxy are to make the playoffs he's central to the push.
M. Ojeda (M/F) - Can't count him out even after a couple of weak games. Possibly goes hand-in-hand with Griezmann's success.
Bouanga - There's a massive possibility that, as LAFC does sometimes, they are able to sit in and completely carve up Seattle on the counter. If so, I would expect Bouanga to be leading those charges. So, if you understandably expect Seattle to crash out and fail to make the playoffs, I think you should be all-in on Bouanga.
Captain considerations
Messi - The usual, please!
Bouanga - If you think Seattle gets skunked, he'll likely have a monster day.
Guilavogui - I am very interested in him back at home after a week off against a tough but beatable Galaxy squad at altitude.
Gil - Revs get a swiss-cheese defense in Orlando, he could have a huge day.
