MLS GW6 Tips – Fantasy Major League Soccer

Round 5 was rough, wasn’t it? The thing about this MLS league is that you’re never absolutely sure how any single match is going to play out. You can look at stats all you want, but the MLS is a different beast when it comes to being predictable. Case in point? The average score for the past round was a measly 51. And we finally broke our trend of seeing a massive score each week top the leaderboard; the high score in the game ended up being a 99, the first week we haven’t seen a single player break the 100 mark.

I guess the silver lining is that everybody suffered together. So unless you had a truly bad week, odds are you kept pace with the pack and are now looking forward to taking this DGW by storm. So right off the bat, it’s important to note that the round starts on Wednesday this week. If I’m not mistaken, it seems like rounds started on a weekend and extended to weekdays in prior years – so this change of pace is likely to catch a lot of players off guard. Don’t be one of those players.

#1) Make a firm plan for your wildcard

We covered this a bit last week, but you need to take stock of your team and figure out exactly when and where you plan to wildcard. There is no universal right answer for this, it’s all situational depending on how your team looks currently. But after the disaster we saw this past round with injuries, DNP’s and atypical match results, many players are starting to chart out their teams a few weeks in advance. Planning your next 3-4 rounds will allow you to make an adjustment if the plan needs to be changed – but you’ll still have your original plan to guide any revisions.

To recap from last week, in the next five weeks we have DGW dates in rounds 6, 8 and 10 – rounds 7 and 9 will be purely single game weeks with two byes in each round. Without a doubt, many people will be wildcarding this week – but if you can change your team around a bit with taking only a -4, or even a -8, saving your wildcard for a future DGW could give you a huge advantage.

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#2) Know your DGW teams

This week we have seven teams on a double. Way back in GW1, we thought some of these teams would be better than they are playing, but there’s still some good stock to buy here. I’ll briefly describe each team below with any players you should consider – and I’ll be giving a good dose of reasons not to consider other players.

Colorado Rapids (away to SKC, home vs NYRB)

Here’s the problem we’re all faced with when deciding whether or not to get Colorado players. Sure, they’re cheap, but they’re just so Colorado. How’s that for top-tier analysis? But I have to give them credit, through five games this year, they’ve only conceded 3 goals. Granted, they’ve only scored 3 goals themselves – but their defense seems to be performing above expectation. If you were going to go hunting for a cheap chance at a clean sheet this week, Colorado is a good place to start. And if their run of form continues in the defense, you might not mind having them there as a cheap solution long term.

You could feel good getting somebody like Sjoberg or Burch on your squad, and if you’re really shooting the moon this weekend, you could add MacMath in goal at a cheap price. Colorado do play three of their next five matches at home, so that advantage could definitely work for you up until GW10 when they get another double. But do yourself a favor and stay away from their offense right now. Their most productive forward is currently sitting on 15 points. Nothing there worth taking.

FC Dallas (away to Portland, home vs SKC)

What are we going to do with Dallas? Every time you start to trust them they come along and give you a cup check. And I’m real tired of getting cup checked by Dallas. But I can’t deny the talent is there – and they should still be featured prominently in most teams. The main issue with Dallas is Mauro Diaz. Nobody knows how fit he is right now. One media member can say that his absence has all been preventative rest, and others are starting to move towards this being something a bit more serious. But we don’t know. And don’t let anyone fool you, nobody outside of Mauro Diaz and his coach really knows if he’ll play this week. That’s just the way the MLS works. The good news is that Diaz playing once is still as good as most playing twice, so if you already have him, he’s worth a gamble.

Dallas are going to have a problem with their competition this week though. They travel to Portland first, and even though Portland have played below expectations, they’ve still managed to score consistently at home. And their second matchup is against SKC – the current leaders of the Western Conference. SKC are the only other team besides Colorado that have only conceded 3 goals all year, so they’re going to test Dallas’ attack quite a bit. If you’re feeling conservative, at least consider adding Max Urruti and/or Fabian Johnson to your team. If you’re feeling really froggy, keep Mauro Diaz to go along with them. But do that fully knowing that you have only yourself to blame if you get cup checked.

NYRB (away to San Jose, away to Colorado)

Man alive, back in GW1 we thought for sure that this was going to be one of those big weeks for NY. Many of us even picked up multiple Red Bulls players with the intention of keeping them straight through to this DGW. How wrong we were. Put simply, the NYRB are a mess right now. They have the pieces in place to turn this thing around, but so far we haven’t seen much positive momentum from them.

NY have already lost their first two road fixtures this year – and they’re the only team that now has their double exclusively on the road. And both San Jose and Colorado have been notoriously stingy in allowing goals at home so far. But the real nail in the coffin is the fact that NY have only scored 4 goals so far this year, and they have the worst GD in the league with a -7. Don’t get me wrong, they have the players in place to be serious contenders, but if you pick up any NYRB players for your squad this week it’s because you’re willing to gamble on past performances. And I get it, I pulled the same thing with Rivero from Vancouver a couple of weeks back. But BWP, Kljestan and McCarty are going to cost you more funds for that same gamble. If you skipped on their offense, nobody would blame you. But they do have a couple of relatively cheap defenders you could pick up to play against Colorado.

Portland Timbers (home vs Dallas, home vs San Jose)

Portland need a home game badly – and this week they get two. Seeing as how Portland are the only team that have a double home fixture, you may want to consider buying the best of their players this week. But there is a slight issue with going with too many Portland players, and that is the fact that they have a bye next week. And after that bye, they have another DGW. How much do you love the MLS right now for throwing that wrench at you?

Here’s the deal: Portland are underperforming this year, just like NY. But unlike NY, Portland’s situation doesn’t seem as dire. In fact, there are lots of positives from Portland that can’t be overlooked. Principally, Portland have Diego Valeri – and Diego generates bonus points. A lot of bonus points. And in addition to that, Portland have scored a pair of goals in each of their first two home fixtures this season, so it’s safe to say that buying Portland attack isn’t going to hurt you. Fanendo Adi should be a popular pick at forward – or you could buy Lucas Melano for much cheaper (but buying Melano will only fill you with hope which will then degrade into self-loathing…so buy Adi).

The one major negative that stands out for Portland is the fact that they haven’t kept a clean sheet yet this year, and nobody really knows when Liam Ridgewell will be declared fit for 90 minutes. Also, Darlington Nagbe took a monster hit against LA last round, and he looks doubtful for the next match (but check the news prior to making a hard decision on excluding him). At a minimum, you should have two Portland players for this round. But you should also know that you may have to sell them next round only to rebuy them in time for GW8.

San Jose (home vs NY, away to Portland)

San Jose are that nagging team again. You never think of them as a major threat to win the title, but you never want your team to have to play them because they can win against anybody. Suffice to say, after we covered NY above, San Jose should be a team you’ll want to invest in just to see what they can pull off in that match alone. The Portland game will be tough, but they stand a good chance of pulling out of Portland with a point if we’re being honest.

The biggest challenge in picking players from San Jose is choosing whether to get Amarikwa or Wondolowski on your team. And it’s a monster decision because Wondo costs nearly $3.0 more than Amarikwa does. They’re both scoring well to start the year, and Wondo has the edge in points, but Amarikwa’s performance against Dallas last round should bump him up for consideration. In that match, he provided two assists and had an attacking bonus for a total of 10 points. Either way you go though, you’re probably safe in getting a return on investment. Wondo has the best chance of getting goals – and Amarikwa provides the best value at forward of any DGW team playing this week.

And not to neglect the defense, but they stand a decent chance at a couple of low scoring games. I don’t think they get two shutouts though – and I kind of think that they probably won’t clean sheet either team. That being said David Bingham is a great keeper to have on your team unless you’re about to jump on the Tim Melia train in Kansas City.

Sporting Kansas City (home vs Colorado, away to Dallas)

So let’s just get right into SKC and talk about that monster game that Tim Melia had. Melia provided owners with 14 points last week with 6 saves, a clean sheet, a defending bonus and a penalty block. How’s that for a 90 minute shift? And it’s not a flash in the pan either. Like we said above, SKC and Colorado are the only two teams that have not allowed more than 3 goals against them yet this year. So getting Melia and one of their star defenders now will be a decision that you’ll be more than happy with for a few weeks to come.

In attack, you can safely go with Dom Dwyer without too much hesitation. SKC, like Portland, have a DGW in rounds 6, 8 and 10, so you could keep a player like Dwyer around for a while if he suits you better than Adi. Also, it’s probably safe to get Benny Feilhaber now. He’s been back for two weeks and has scored a goal in each of his two games. Investing in four players from SKC probably isn’t a bad choice right now – especially considering that they get a home match against Colorado. And unlike Portland, SKC don’t have a bye week after their double, so they’re a safe investment no matter which way you go.

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#3) The Giovinco problem, and other quick takes

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This article is already running long, so I’ll try to make this brief. Now that we’re really into the thick of DGW country, you have to make a difficult choice regarding Giovinco. Toronto still have three more road matches to play before they get their first home match. And they’re still six weeks out from having a double of their own. But even being on the road, Giovinco has still managed to nab 3 goals and 2 assists – and what else could you ask of a guy playing exclusively away from home? The point is that he’s effective no matter what, but he’s incredibly expensive. But you already know this. If you really want to maximize your DGW roster, you’re going to have to sell him. Or keep him if you like. Giovinco is the only player I’ve ever seen in the MLS that has the ability to regularly score DGW points without having a DGW. Tough choice.

Even after saying all of that about Giovinco, the highest scorer in the game coming into this week isn’t the Toronto striker, it’s Ignacio Piatti. And Piatti will be travelling down to Chicago this week, and that’s a very favourable fixture for him and Montreal. I’m not saying you should keep him at the cost of neglecting Valeri or Benny on a double, but there would be merit to holding onto him in some fashion. In addition to the great matchup this week, they do have a DGW of their own in just a couple of rounds. Something to consider.

Just as a final reminder, for those of you building out wildcard teams this week – put a bench together that won’t leave you high and dry. We saw a lot of teams get burned this week with no subs. The reporting in the MLS just isn’t good enough to invest 100% of your active funds to field players with only dummy players on the bench. You’ll get burned that way, and there are a ton of people that can testify to that now.

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#4) Captain Picks

I’m just going to rank my picks in the order I would choose them. You can disagree with me, but you would be wrong. Just sayin’.

Diego Valeri – Timbers will get goals, Diego will churn out bonus points. I expect to see 8-10 BP from him this week. You heard it here first.

Benny Feilhaber – I kind of hate that SKC is so good again. But they melt down late in the year, so we may as well enjoy the best of SKC now before it goes to waste.

Max Urruti – I would put Diaz here, but I can’t trust that he’ll play. I’m still high on Urruti though. And nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen when Urruti comes back to Portland for the first time…but I kind of think it’s going to be a fireworks show.

MLS GW6 Tips – Fantasy Major League Soccer This article was written by Guy Sanchez (FootyFantastic)

Follow @Guy_M_Sanchez

