MLS GW9 Tips – Fantasy Major League Soccer

MLS DEADLINE GW9 – FRIDAY 6TH MAY 00:00AM



I’m going to be completely honest, I’ve had a busy week. And being that it’s been a busy week, I’ve had to delay writing this article for a couple of days. That’s a good thing. I think if I’d have stuck to my normal writing schedule, this article would have been much more dour, maybe even downright nasty. Why? Because DGW8 was just a mess on so many levels. But I’ve had time to calm down now – so maybe my memory of this last week has been downgraded to being only mildly maddening.

But no matter how you slice it, the DGW’s in this league have been borderline awful this year. SKC have taken the mantle that DC had last year of being the ‘rotate for rotation’s sake’ team. And then factor in the fact that a player like Piatti only managed 5 points through two games. Or how about the fact that Saunders was the Dream Team GK for this last week, who saw that coming? The list goes on and on. Unexpected results combined with several underwhelming performances resulted in a mess of feast or famine scores. If you captained Villa, you did well. If you capped Piatti, you hate life right now. That’s the MLS for you.

And wouldn’t you know it, we get to do it all again next week. Now onto this week’s talking points:

#1) Using this round to prep for the next DGW

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – DGW’s are a huge gamble, but you have to play them aggressively. This past week reached a high water mark of frustration, but when you look at the week’s top scorers, only a few NYRB players emerged alongside a host of DGW players in the Dream Team. You simply have to hold your breath and take the dive and get those potential minutes.

And even though this is an article for GW9 – a week with no doubles – you have to parlay some of your moves to prep for the next round of doubles. And GW10 shares the distinction with GW31 as being the two rounds with the most teams on a double (a staggering 8 teams playing twice). So even if you’re frustrated with how your past DGW’s have gone, you still can’t afford to simply dismiss this next round during your preparation for this current round.

The teams playing twice next week will be: Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Houston, Philly, Portland, SKC and Vancouver. Some of these teams we know well – and you fully know what to expect. Would you ever risk carrying more than two SKC players into a double now? Probably not. Should you buy Dallas even though they lost 0-4 to NY this week? Since they will play twice at home, absolutely. Will Diego Valeri be a good pick for his double? Stop asking stupid questions, of course he will.

We’ll get into this more next week, but you know what you need to do. If you’re going to spend two transfers this week, strongly consider using them to start to load up on players from these teams. And if you’re not sure yet which way to go, save a transfer to carry into next round to give you a bit more flexibility.

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#2) Giovinco alert: Toronto are at home this week

So maybe you want to disregard everything I just said above just out of spite. I get it, DGW’s suck if you’re on the losing end. A case could be made that with 8 teams on the double next week, all XI of your field players should be on a double. But let’s take a look at the most exciting storyline that’s hitting the MLS this week – Toronto are finally getting a home game.

Check that, Toronto are going to be getting three rounds straight of home games, and that third round will be a double for them. If Giovinco was able to snag 5 Attacking Bonus this last round alone, how much better will he play in front of a home crowd that’s just dying to see him? And the icing on the cake? Toronto are playing at home against Dallas. And Dallas have proven themselves to be a real Jekyll and Hyde team this year in home and away fixtures – so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Giovinco jump all over them while they’re still nursing their 4 goal loss from this weekend.

So maybe we should amend my earlier statement: next week you should probably have ten players on a double plus Giovinco.

Giovinco, having no doubles to this point and having played only road fixtures, is second in the league in shots taken (44); he trails only David Villa right now in that department. And he’s impressively tied for second place in the league for goals scored (6). If Giovinco was able to accomplish all of that while having no real rest time at home, just imagine what he’s going to be capable of in these next few weeks…

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#3) Major battle for first place in the West – Colorado v RSL

Who would’ve thought that we’d be marking our weekend calendars for this match at this point in the season? I certainly didn’t – but I will be honest and say that I’m going to make a point of watching this game. Currently, these two teams are tied for first place in the Western Conference, and I think it’s safe to say that neither side wants to keep this a draw and continue onto next week in the same state.

On the whole, I actually think you have to favor Colorado in this match. Colorado have conceded just 8 goals on the year – and only 2 of those goals have been conceded while they’re playing at home. On the other side, we have a more surprising stat: in EVERY road match that RSL has played this year, they’ve scored exactly 2 goals in each of those contests.

So RSL aren’t explosive on the road, but they’re very decent. In their first meeting this year, RSL beat Colorado 1-0. I tend to think that we might see a similar scoreline for the home team in this contest too. The stats don’t lie when it comes to Colorado’s defense this year, so I’m still bullish on picking up their defenders, especially coming into a DGW. Either way, we should have a definitive leader in the West when this match is done and dusted.

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#4) Quick Takes

Even though Chicago are on a bye this week, mentally try to figure out the funds for at least one or two of their players going into next round. Chicago are going to have back to back DGW’s coming up in GW10 and GW11 – so it will be worth the risk to have some coverage from them. The question remains, will they rotate heavily or normally? I don’t think anybody could be as bad as SKC this year, so you might find a hidden gem with a cheap Chicago pick-up.

After winning their last two matches – and scoring 7 goals in that span – it’s now probably ok to pick up a NYRB player or two if you’re of that mindset that not all of your team can be dependent on DGW production. NY have their own double coming up on GW11 – so if you already have Kljestan in your squad, definitely hold onto him unless his salary bars you from owning Valeri in the interim.

RSL, like we mentioned above, are facing a hard test in Colorado this week. But their test doesn’t end there. This squad is kicking off a 5-match road trip this week, so if you have any RSL, toss ‘em now. There isn’t a single player that RSL has that can rival Giovinco’s output during that many road fixtures, and they’re going to suffer during this run.

If you still have any LA attack on your squad, hold onto them for this week before selling them off. LA host New England this week, and the Revs are second worst in the East for conceding goals (16) on the year. It should be a goal-fest for the Galaxy this weekend. I’m thinking at least a 3 goal scoreline for the home team.

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#5) Captain Picks

Giovinco

If you don’t captain him, you are going more rogue than Sarah Palin.

Diego Valeri

Sure he has a road fixture, but he’s got fresh legs right now after taking a week off a couple of rounds ago. And if you watched his last match…you just have to stare in awe at how much better he is than nearly anybody else out there.

David Villa

Still probably owned by many people, and you don’t necessarily have to sell him off yet. NYC play away to DC this week, and Villa might still have a goal or two left in him, especially against an average defense like DC has.

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The MLSFI Podcast

We mention this every week and we hope you’ve had a chance to listen in but if you haven’t then be sure to try and check out this weeks edition below. The guys know MLS inside out but more than that they’re just a great listen every week and you get to follow their teams, their successes and their woes. Pretty much the same soap story that unfolds on our FPL comments on here every week, only in a podcast format!

MLSFI Hosts H2H League

Probably worth a listen this week alone to hear the hollow threats from Jay about how he’s going to crush the FF247 site team this week in our H2H league. If you’re yet to listen in then we partake in their Hosts H2H league, which we take as an honour and a privilege. We then proceed to take massive liberties and trash them all on twitter on a Monday when we’ve won! Usually it’s taken in good spirit but for some reason Jay seems to have got a hard on for beating us this week. It won’t happen but it’ll be fun to watch!

We’ll be sure to post updates of the battle on here and on twitter over the weekend as the take down plays out. As FPL draws to a conclusion we will start to give you more updates on both this and also the site teams progress in MLS. Unlike in FPL it’s usually a massive success story as we tend to play at the top table as opposed to fighting for the scraps on the FPL floor.

And if you just don’t have the time then the guys have a handy chalkboard with their picks on which is below. (Or will be as ever, just as and when they post it themselves!)

Don’t forget to stop by mlsfantasyboss.com to catch up on their great weekly articles that lead into the deadline.

Or if you are after listening to more of Guy himself then be sure to drop in and give his Married Man’s Guide to Sports Addiction a listen!

To play the MLS game itself it’s fantasy.mlssoccer.com that you need.

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And last but not least, don’t forget to join the FF247 MLS League, Code is: 123-361

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MLS GW9 Tips – Fantasy Major League Soccer This article was written by Guy Sanchez (FootyFantastic)

Follow @Guy_M_Sanchez

