MLS GW2 Tips – Fantasy Major League Soccer

Well GW1 sure was a kick in the shorts, eh? How did your team manage? The overall top score in the game was 119 points – and the FF247 team managed a healthy 102. This writer? I screwed up and only managed to get 79 points in the opening stage. Somehow they still think I’m worthy of giving advice here after such a disastrous outing – so let’s commence with that!

This weeks deadline is Friday 7pm EST (US), 12.00AM GMT (UK)[clear]

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#1) Beware Fool’s Gold

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[/three_fourth]There were a few surprise scores this weekend that will have fantasy manager’s trying to catch a wave of momentum. The first of these would have to be LA’s Mike Magee. Magee wasn’t even a starter in the game in which he dominated with two goals and an assist en route to 17 points. Magee came on for Giovani dos Santos – and even though we don’t know the status of dos Santos going forward, it’s safe to say that Magee probably won’t be the leading option at attack when LA go on the road to face Colorado this weekend.

Similarly, expect NYCFC’s scoring to revert to something more of a normal pattern. Let’s not forget that NYCFC faced a woeful Chicago defense this weekend – and Chicago’s only defensive strategy was to put a couple of bodies on Villa. To some extent, that strategy worked; Villa was held out of the scoring while the rest of the team put up four goals. It’s probably safe to assume that Villa is going to start to get his share of the goals here soon, so McNamara, Diskerud and Shelton (three NYCFC players that combined for 35 points) probably won’t continue to see such elevated scoring numbers.

Lastly, Nuno Coehlo, the SKC defender, probably won’t be putting up another 16 point performance. SKC seemingly starts out every year with a defender that gets an early goal (Opara ‘15 anyone?), but much of Coehlo’s scoring came from playing against a Seattle side that very quickly went down to 10 men. This week SKC will be playing at home against Vancouver – and even though the Whitecaps lost this weekend, they were still a scoring threat against Montreal.

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#2) Load up on the genuine articles

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[/three_fourth]Now that we’ve covered the players not likely to remain in form, there were a few performances that simply can’t be denied. First among these is Ignacio Piatti for Montreal. Piatti was able to snag 20 points for owners with his brace and assist – and he looks just as dangerous this year as he did last year in stretches. We all wondered how Montreal would do without Drogba to start the year, and it looks like Piatti is settling into the idea that this team really belongs to him. This week Montreal play at home against NYRB, and the Red Bulls look likely to concede another couple against such a potent attack.

Diego Valeri was able to nab 13 points in a dominant performance against Columbus this weekend, and if you haven’t seen the highlight for his goal, you should do so as soon as possible. Valeri is undeniably the best player the Timbers have, and the momentum he picked up in the home opener has a good chance of carrying into Sunday’s match against San Jose. San Jose have a potent defense, but the Timbers are bringing a better attack than what the Quakes faced last week.

Lastly, for those of you who started to lose faith in Giovinco’s performance during the season opener, don’t do that again. Giovinco proved the early doubters wrong and scored 11 points in the dying minutes of the NYRB match. This week Toronto travels to Yankee Stadium to take on NYCFC – that very same NYCFC team that conceded three goals to Chicago. Safe to say, Toronto is going to get on the board in this match, and if nothing else, Giovinco needs to be your steady, if not conservative pick, at captain.

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#3) FC Dallas proved they’re the real deal

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[/three_fourth]Dallas had a ton to live up to in their first match – outside of NYRB, Columbus and Portland, no other team looked as dangerous on paper as Dallas did in preseason. And poor, poor Philly walked into the lion’s den on Sunday on proved to us that what we all thought of Dallas was absolutely true.

For starters, Max Urruti proved that he was the man for the job up front for the squad. With the departure of old man Perez this year, there was only a minor question as to which of Dallas’ forwards would get the starting job. And boy did Urruti come out flying. For those of us who wondered if Urruti could handle an entire match in attack, he more than proved he was up to the task. For his efforts, Maxi gave his owners 8 points with his goal.

Even more obvious than Urruti being a no-brainer to lead Dallas, Mauro Diaz is still more of a must-have player. Diaz made his two assists look almost effortless. His 14 points almost didn’t seem to be enough to match his performance. He was clearly the man of the match and should be an immediate pick up if you don’t already have him (and his 17% ownership is criminally low).

In the back, Dallas mixed things up with Figueroa and Zimmerman getting the starting chance over the once-trusted Loyd. Jesse Gonzalez is probably going to be the keeper of choice all year, and it’s unfortunate that he wasn’t tested a bit more by Philly so that we could really see what kind of form he’s in. Either way, if you were going to burn a transfer on a keeper this early, make Gonzalez part of your plans.

The only problem with Dallas right now is going to be the status of Fabian Castillo. Castillo was stretchered off in the match, and even though Dallas has capable replacements at his position, nobody is going to provide quite the same amount of pace that he offers. In the short term, I think Dallas is still equipped enough with Urruti and Diaz (and their defenders) to be considered one of the top three teams in the league, so feel free to buy up as many of them as you can manage.

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#4) Best fixtures to key in on this week

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[/three_fourth]Columbus play at home this week to Philly, and even though Columbus lost to Portland to start the year, they still have their entire team intact from last year. Truthfully, Columbus looked dangerous in their opener (and who can forget that Higuain goal?). Really the key to this game is the fact that Philly are on a second road fixture in a row, and if they play as lousy as they played against Dallas, Columbus should absolutely steam roll them.

LA are in a road fixture, but they get to go to Colorado. Colorado are still Colorado until they prove that they aren’t. And like Forrest Gump would say,”That’s all I have to say about that.”

Orlando are getting a second straight home fixture and will entertain Chicago. One could say that Chicago performed rather admirably at home against NYCFC, but let’s be honest: they still gave up four goals in their own stadium. Travelling to Florida will probably see Chicago concede another couple at least. Larin and Shea are ‘holds’ if you have them.

Speaking of NYCFC, they will be playing at home against Toronto this week. Simply put, expect goals. Sure, Toronto put up a great defensive effort against NYRB, but they’re on the second of a long string of road fixtures. They’re going to concede at some point, and probably in bunches. Also, NYCFC are simply awful in defense. Giovinco is going to eat them up. We may see another seven goal game here.

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#5) Thoughts on the wildcard

I know, I know; popular wisdom says to save your wildcard for an emergency. But honestly, you’ll be getting a few unlimited transfer windows this year during special circumstances. So if you’re already far off the pace, it’s not the worst idea to get your team back in shape early on. Honestly, I can’t understand how some people will wait until they’re 400 points off the lead later in the year to burn their wildcard. The MLS season is full of pitfalls as it is, don’t let your own fears of using your wildcard get in the way of building a better team now that you know who the projected starters are going to be. If you’re nearing being 100 points off the overall high score after this round, you may want to strongly consider giving your team a reboot.

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#6) Captain Picks

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[/three_fourth]Sebastian Giovinco – I mean this is still obvious, right? Would anybody be surprised if gets into the double digits early on against New York?

Robbie Keane – Playing against Colorado isn’t the worst time to give anybody the armband. Also, with dos Santos being sidelined, Keane will naturally take a more dominant role in the attack.

Mauro Diaz – Dallas take the short drive to Houston (short by MLS standards) to face off in one of the few natural derbys the MLS has to offer. Houston are good, but Dallas are better. I don’t see any drop off for the boys in red this week.

Kei Kamara – Columbus should really put it to Philly this week. There isn’t a scenario that I can see where Philly really put up much of a threat in this match. Kamara should open his account for the season in this match.

There you have it folks. Let’s get this thing back on track this week, eh? Good luck everybody.

Guy

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The MLSFI Podcast

We mentioned this last week and we hope you had a chance to listen in but if you didn’t then be sure to try and check out this weeks edition. 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!

The link to the podcast itself is here MLSFI – GW2 – The season Begins but even if you don’t find the time then their handy chalkboard of pundits picks is back this week also as per below.

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 GW2 Tips – Fantasy Major League Soccer This article was written by Guy Sanchez (FootyFantastic)

Follow @Guy_M_Sanchez

