While the English Premier League kicked off its new season, over the pond the Fall season continued in typical MLS style with unexpected results all over the shop. In the Cascadia Cup, Portland’s unbeaten run of 15 games was finally snapped by the visitors from Vancouver. Elsewhere, it was surprising to see Philadelphia make it 3 wins in their last 4 away games, considering they only had 1 win in their previous 8 road matches.

In fantasy terms there were few big scorers, as the goals were shared around much more than we’ve seen recently. For example, across Saturday’s 8 games, 21 goals were scored by 20 different goal-scorers, with the only brace coming from the most unlikely source (a Philly defender, playing away, with only 0.67% ownership!). Further multiple goal-scorers did follow on Sunday from slightly more obvious (though still low ownership) assets – a brace for Tajouri-Shradi (NYC mid, owned by 0.24%) and a hat trick for Acosta (DCU mid, owned by 2.24%). But most of the big guns failed to deliver big points.

If only there was a potentially high-scoring, double-gameweek on the horizon to excite us…

Gameweek 24 Review

The round started with Zardes scoring an injury time winner to snatch a last-gasp home win for Columbus Crew over Houston Dynamo. After that, the rest of the opening day matches defied convention and expectation, with just one further home win (for Colorado) from the next 7 games. There were draws for LA against Minnesota and Real Salt Lake against Montreal Impact, and away wins for Philadelphia Union, New York Red Bulls, Sporting Kansas City and Vancouver Whitecaps. Sunday’s games restored some semblance of normality, with home wins for DC United and Seattle Sounders, while NYCFC won away at Toronto.

Gameweek 25 Preview

This is another double gameweek (DGW), with a short turnaround, featuring six teams on a double. DC United and LAFC play twice at home, while Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake and Portland Timbers each play twice on the road.LA Galaxy play one at home and one away. The only team on a bye is Orlando City.

LA ( W 10 D 6 L 8 ) vs COL & @ SEA ( W 9 D 5 L 9 )

Galaxy are on a roll, with just one loss in their last 9 games, scoring 24 goals along the way. Zlatan is on an incredible streak of 12 goals and 4 assists in his last 9 starts, so is a must-have for the DGW (EDIT: assuming he plays on the turf at SEA – Thanks Zorro for pointing this out). Another attacking player like Alessandrini, Kamara or one of the Dos Santos boys is probably a good idea too. There are reasonable clean sheet prospects in the first match, given Colorado’s poor away form (just 1 win and 7 goals scored in 10 road matches), so either Bingham or a defender should be considered.

Colorado is dealt with below

Seattle extended their unbeaten run to eight games with a home win against the top side in the West, FC Dallas. If you’re not fully ‘loded’ on DGW players, then Lodeiro is always good business as he proved last week with a goal and an assist.

DC ( W 5 D 6 L 9 ) vs POR & vs NE ( W 7 D 8 L 8 )

DC have an opportunity to haul themselves off the bottom of the Eastern Conference, with two home fixtures at their new stadium. They currently sit with between 3 and 6 games in hand over their higher placed rivals, so mathematically they can easily catch-up. However, the reality may be a different story, as they will need to improve quickly to have any chance of scooping maximum points this week (after all, they only just managed to beat current whipping boys Orlando City last week thanks to a 96th minute winner, which doesn’t bode well for their prospects this week against trickier opponents). Rooney has not had a Zlatan-style impact as of yet, but his impressive play to create the winning goal last week could be the turning point. Otherwise, you could gamble on lightning striking again for last week’s hat-trick hero Acosta ($8.5M, 3G, 2A, 36pts in the last three). A defender or keeper could be chanced for a possible clean sheet in the second match against the travel-sick Revs.

Portland is dealt with below.

New England lost at home last week to Philly, so I wouldn’t bet on them winning away this week, especially given their terrible travelling record (just 1 win in 10). With all the DGW options on offer, it’s probably best to look elsewhere.

COL ( W 6 D 5 L 12 ) @ LA & @ LAFC

The Rapids will be California dreaming this week, with two away trips to the Golden State to face both Los Angeles teams. With their dodgy record on the road (just 1 win in 10 away games), and the fact that they are currently 11th in the West while the LA teams sit in 4th and 5th, it seems unlikely that many (or indeed any) managers will be tempted to gamble on Colorado players this week, despite their double-up prospects. That said, they do have budget-friendly options, so perhaps the likes of Acosta ($8.0M, 2G, 2A, 27pts in the last three) or Nana ($5.0M, 1G, 1A, 18pts in the last two) could be chanced in a switcheroo, given that they play in the first fixture of the gameweek.

LA is already dealt with above.

LAFC is dealt with below.

LAFC ( W 10 D 6 L 7 ) vs RSL & vs COL

The Black and Gold lost at home last week and are now on a five-match winless streak. They have tumbled even further down the table and are now fifth (after being second just a few weeks ago). On paper they have an excellent chance to reverse their recent fortunes and get back to their exciting goal-scoring form, as both opponents are poor on the road. There are many good options in attack (Vela, Diomande, Rossi, Feilhaber) and defence (Ciman, Beitashour) to consider here, but rotation is possible so picking the right players will be tricky. But, with their favourable fixtures and innate talent, they have the potential to be one of the highest point-scoring DGW teams this week.

Real Salt Lake is dealt with below.

Colorado is already dealt with above.

PHI ( W 9 D 3 L 11 ) vs NYC ( W 14 D 5 L 5 )

Both teams registered 3-2 away victories last week, so with regard to recent form there is nothing between them. NYC have certainly been more consistent than Philly this season, so if picking anybody from this fixture it’s probably better to favour the Blues. Villa finally returned from injury for them last week, after missing 7 games, but picked up right where he left off by scoring the opener. However, the lure of DGW options elsewhere may result in this fixture being overlooked for fantasy assets.

David Villa gets the opener in #TORvNYC! That’s his 8th goal in 8 appearances vs. @TorontoFC. https://t.co/pLr2OBL6AC — Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 12, 2018

VAN ( W 9 D 6 L 9 ) vs NYRB ( W 15 D 2 L 6 )

The Caps will be jubilant following their Cascadia Cup victory last week over Portland, which simultaneously broke the Timbers’ 15-match unbeaten streak and inflicted their first home defeat for the season. Kei Kamara and Techera scored in that match, so could be decent options here if you’re on the lookout for SGW players.

The Bulls were also away victors last week, although they managed to keep a clean sheet too. If they can repeat that formula here, then the likes of Robles or a defender could be a cheeky SGW punt as their away form is decent in the last five (W3, D1, L1), only shipping two goals in the process.

MTL ( W 9 D 3 L 13 ) vs CHI ( W 6 D 5 L 14 )

This is a match between two struggling SGW teams, so will probably not feature high on most people’s radars. Piatti’s hot-and-cold form looks to have turned icy after failing to deliver again last week (but does that mean he’s due this week?). Either way, he’s a costly option for a SGW player.

Meanwhile, Chicago are now on an embarrassing seven-game losing streak and have only won 2 of their 12 road games all season. Avoid.

DAL ( W 12 D 6 L 5 ) vs MIN ( W 9 D 2 L 13 )

The Texans are stuck in a bad patch at the moment after losing their last two games. That said, they should be able to overcome the Loons at home to snatch the three points. It’s likely there will be goals on both sides, so defence is not recommended. Previous out-of-position bargain Barrios was deployed back in midfield last week (making way for the newly acquired Badji up front), so that gravy train (or should that be bandwagon?) has probably come to an end now.

The Loons are dreadful on the road, with just 1 win in 11 games this season. That pattern is unlikely to change this week against the top team in the West.

POR ( W 10 D 7 L 4 ) @ DCU & @ SKC ( W 11 D 6 L 6 )

The Timbers will be hurting after their Cascadia Cup defeat to Vancouver last week and could well be fired up to inflict goal-scoring misery on their opponents this week. I don’t expect DC to cause them any problems, but the second game will be tough, with the added frisson that a victory would see them leapfrog Sporting into second place in the West. You definitely need some assets this week. Valeri is surely a must-have, and a double-up with either Blanco or Guzman could be beneficial too. Also consider investing in the backline, with the likes of Attinella, Cascante or Mabiala

DC United is already dealt with above.

Sporting are on a roll again, with back-to-back away victories (and back-to-back clean sheets) in the last two weeks, which has helped to propel them from fifth to second in the West. They will be looking to consolidate that rise at home this week, but as a SGW team it may be a hard sell for fantasy managers. Going with anybody here would be to bet against Portland and their DGW prospects. It’s a no from me, but I’m sure the usual suspects of Melia, Zusi and Besler in defence or Gerso, Rubio and Salloi in attack will have their fans somewhere.

RSL ( W 10 D 5 L 9 ) @ LAFC & @ HOU ( W 7 D 6 L 10 )

Real have one of the worst away records in the league (only 1 win in 11 games, with 25 goals conceded and just 8 scored), so a DGW on the road is not an enticing prospect. Bargain defender Herrera ($4.5M) could be chanced perhaps, but investment in any of their attacking options would be for gamblers only.

LAFC is already dealt with above.

Houston now have four consecutive losses as part of a six-game winless streak. They are not one of the more attractive SGW options this week, so I would look elsewhere.

SJ ( W 3 D 7 L 13 ) vs TOR ( W 6 D 5 L 12 )

This is another SGW match-up between two struggling teams, with nothing much to recommend.

ATL ( W 14 D 6 L 4 ) vs CLB ( W 11 D 6 L 7 )

Atlanta will return from their bye last week well rested and eager to cement their position at the top of the Eastern Conference. They are unbeaten in their last five games and have a good record at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with only two losses so far. Josef Martinez has been on scintillating form recently and is now just one goal away from equalling the MLS record for the most scored in a season. In any other week he would be a shoo-in for our teams, but without a DGW he may not be as heavily owned. This could make him an interesting differential, and with his current form he is likely to outscore a lot of the DGW contenders.

The Crew won last week and kept a clean sheet too. I don’t expect them to repeat either of those feats this week.

Notes for your Diary

It’s worth noting that Toronto and Vancouver play each other in the Canadian Championship midweek, before their MLS fixtures at the weekend. So it is effectively a DGW for these teams in terms of having to play twice, but not in terms of their potential fantasy returns. Watch out for injuries and rotations.

Captain Suggestions

1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA) Incredible form and a DGW to boot. Ignore him at your peril! (EDIT: although be aware he may not play the second game on the turf at SEA).

2. Valeri (POR) Even away from home, you can count on Diego to score.

3. Josef Martinez (ATL) The best SGW option, just a brace away from becoming a record-breaker.

Deadline

Tuesday 14.08 at 10:30 PM EDT – Wednesday 15.08 at 03:30 AM BST

Beware the early midweek deadline for the DGW!

Best of luck to all Managers

Thanks for reading: MLS Tips Fantasy Major League Soccer GW24. This article was written by Chipster