The 2019 Expansion Draft is less than a week away, with Inter Miami and Nashville SC set to select five players each on Tuesday (5:30 pm ET; live on MLSsoccer.com). The pool of players they will be selecting from is set to be announced on Saturday, but we don't have to wait that long to predict who those players are likely to be.

There are a lot of rules to the process of protecting players, which you can read about here, but basically teams can protect up to 12 players from possible selection and Generation adidas players who have not been graduated at the end of the season and Homegrown Players (ages 25 and under – born in or after 1994) on a club’s roster at the end of the season are automatically protected. Checking out the roster pages of every club from the end of the season could also offer some hints on why some players are automatically protected or not.

What makes this exercise even more difficult than usual is that the vast majority of clubs have not yet announced their decisions on which players' 2020 options they will be exercising or declining. That information would go a long way towards knowing which players clubs value.

On-field play, while obviously important, is not the only reason to protect or not protect a player. Age, contract length and salary are all factors that will likely play into these decisions. Remember that Miami and Nashville will also not just be picking for themselves, but other teams across the league could also ask the two teams to make picks for them and execute a trade.

You will notice that there are five teams who are not listed below: D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, New York Red Bulls and Vancouver Whitecaps FC are exempt from this draft after having players selected in last year's Expansion Draft.

Atlanta United

It was a tough call, but Hector Villalba and Eric Remedi seem to be on the outs and Dion Pereira is a younger, cheaper option for the Five Stripes. Brandon Vazquez is another intriguing option.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Ezequiel Barco Mo Adams Mikey Ambrose Franco Escobar George Bello Jon Gallagher Leandro Gonzalez Pirez George Campbell Alec Kann Julian Gressel Andrew Carleton Kevin Kratz Brad Guzan Chris Goslin Brandon Moore Emerson Hyndman Lagos Kunga Luiz Nascimento Jeff Larentowicz Miles Robinson Eric Remedi Pity Martinez Brek Shea Josef Martinez Brandon Vazquez Justin Meram Hector Villalba Dion Pereira Florentin Pogba

Chicago Fire

Despite trading $400,000 in Targeted Allocation Money for him last year, it wouldn't be surprising if the Fire left Raheem Edwards unprotected. With Chicago making trades with both Expansion teams, I would expect no Fire player to be selected.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Micheal Azira Jeremiah Gutjahr Elliot Collier Jonathan Bornstein Djordje Mihailovic Raheem Edwards Brandt Bronico Andre Reynolds Marcelo Francisco Calvo Gabriel Slonina Cristian Martinez Diego Campos Amando Moreno Stefan Cleveland David Ousted Przyemyslaw Frankowski Richard Sanchez Nicolas Gaitan Fabian Herbers Johan Kappelhof Aleksandar Katai CJ Sapong

FC Cincinnati

Gerard Nijkamp would love if someone took Fanendo Adi.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Leonardo Bertone Frankie Amaya Fanendo Adi Allan Cruz Andrew Gutman Fatai Alashe Mathieu Deplagne Nazmi Albadawi Greg Garza Logan Gdula Joseph-Claude Gyau Jimmy Hague Nick Hagglund Justin Hoyte Emmanuel Ledesma Roland Lamah Tommy McCabe Forrest Lasso Spencer Richey Ben Lundt Przemyslaw Tyton Kekuta Manneh Maikel van der Werff Darren Mattocks Kendall Waston Jimmy McLaughlin Hassan Ndam Alvas Powell Caleb Stanko

Colorado Rapids

Not many tough decisions for the Rapids.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Kellyn Acosta Sebastian Anderson Johan Blomberg Clint Irwin Cole Bassett Kofi Opare Niki Jackson Kortne Ford Andre Rawls Kei Kamara Matt Hundley Abdul Rwatubyaye Nicolas Mezquida Jonathan Lewis Axel Sjoberg Sam Nicholson Dillon Serna Deklan Wynne Jack Price Sam Vines Keegan Rosenberry Diego Rubio Andre Shinyashiki Tommy Smith Danny Wilson

Columbus Crew SC

The Crew have some tough decisions to make as players like Waylon Francis, Hector Jimenez and Josh Williams could all be valuable to other teams.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Lalas Abubakar Alex Crognale Luis Argudo Harrison Afful Aboubacar Keita Ricardo Clark Artur Edward Opoku Waylon Francis Luis Diaz JJ Williams David Guzman Jonathan Mensah Jordan Hamilton Youness Mokhtar Federico Higuain Darlington Nagbe Hector Jimenez Eloy Room Jon Kempin Pedro Santos Ben Lundgaard Wil Trapp Connor Maloney Milton Valenzuela Eduardo Sosa Gyasi Zardes Josh Williams Romario Williams

LAFC

Two starters (plus Lee Nguyen!) from the best regular-season team in MLS history could be available.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Eduard Atuesta Lamar Batista Tristan Blackmon Steven Beitashour Latif Blessing Mohamed El-Munir Adama Diomande Phillip Ejimadu Mark-Anthony Kaye Alejandro Guido Tyler Miller Jordan Harvey Diego Palacios Dejan Jakovic Brian Rodriguez Lee Nguyen Diego Rossi Adrien Perez Eddie Segura Javi Perez Carlos Vela Josh Perez Walker Zimmerman Danilo Silva Pablo Sisniega Peter-Lee Vassell Rodolfo Zelaya

LA Galaxy

Some interesting depth central-midfield pieces here, and Julian Araujo could take over the starting right back role if Rolf Feltscher is picked.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Romain Alessandrini Efrain Alvarez Favio Alvarez Uriel Antuna Hugo Arellano Servando Carrasco Julian Araujo Bradford Jamieson IV Emil Cuello David Bingham Diedie Traore Rolf Feltscher Joe Corona Ethan Zubak Tomas Hilliard-Arce Jonathan dos Santos Zlatan Ibrahimovic Giancarlo Gonzalez Juninho Sebastian Lletget Perry Kitchen Cristian Pavon Matt Lampson Diego Polenta Joao Pedro Daniel Steres Jorgen Skjelvik Diedie Traore Justin Vom Steeg

Minnesota United FC

Kevin Molino or Angelo Rodriguez is the tough pick here.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Osvaldo Alonso Abu Danladi Miguel Ibarra Michael Boxall Collin Martin Romario Ibarra Thomas Chacon Dayne St. Clair Brent Kallman Hassani Dotson Mason Toye Carter Manley Ethan Finlay Wilfried Moimbe-Tahrat Chase Gasper Kevin Molino Jan Gregus Ally Ng'Anzi Robin Lod Lawrence Olum Vito Mannone Wyatt Omsberg Romain Metanire Rasmus Schuller Ike Opara Bobby Shuttleworth Angelo Rodriguez

Montreal Impact

It's anyone's guess who Olivier Renard and Thierry Henry value at this point.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Zachary Brault-Guillard Clement Bayiha Victor Cabrera Evan Bush Jason Beaulieu Rudy Camacho Bojan Krkic Mathieu Choiniere Jorge Corrales Lassi Lappalainen Daniel Kinumbe Clement Diop Daniel Lovitz Thomas Meilleur-Giguere Rod Fanni Orji Okwonkwo James Pantemis Anthony Jackson-Hamel Ignacio Piatti Shamit Shome Ken Krolicki Samuel Piette Karifa Yao Amar Sejdic Jukka Raitala Ballou Tabla Bacary Sagna Saphir Taider Maxi Urruti

New England Revolution

Scott Caldwell and Jalil Anibaba could be good pieces for any team, while the salaries of Michael Mancienne and Wilfried Zahibo are probably prohibitive for any team thinking about selecting them.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Juan Agudelo Isaac Angking Juan Fernando Caicedo Jalil Anibaba Tajon Buchanan Scott Caldwell Gustavo Bou Diego Fagundez Edgar Castillo Teal Bunbury Nicolas Firmino Cody Cropper Brandon Bye Zachary Herivaux Brad Knighton Luis Caicedo Justin Rennicks Michael Mancienne Antonio Delamea Brian Wright Andrew Farrell Wilfried Zahibo Carles Gil DeJuan Jones Cristian Penilla Matt Turner

New York City FC

Ben Sweat should be the No. 1 pick if he's left unprotected, given his versatility, quality and salary.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Alexander Callens Justin Haak Luis Barraza Valentin Castellanos James Sands Daniel Bedoya Maxime Chanot Joe Scally Jeff Caldwell Heber Sebastien Ibeagha Sean Johnson Gary Mackay-Steven Ronald Matarrita Jesus Medina Alexandru Mitrita Eric Miller Maxi Moralez Abdi Mohamed Keaton Parks Ebenezer Ofori Alexander Ring Tony Rocha Ismael Tajouri-Shradi Brad Stuver Anton Tinnerholm Ben Sweat Juan Pablo Torres

Orlando City SC

Orlando are working on finding the core, but for now, there's only a few players that must be protected.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Tesho Akindele Cam Lindley Josue Colman Carlos Ascues Benji Michel Alex De John Dom Dwyer Joao Moutinho Adam Grinwis Cristian Higuita Mason Stajduhar Will Johnson Robin Jansson Sacha Kljestan Sebastian Mendez Shane O'Neill Kamal Miller Santiago Patiño Chris Mueller Dillon Powers Nani Greg Ranjitsingh Mauricio Pereyra Robinho Ruan Oriol Rosell Lamine Sane Brian Rowe Kyle Smith

Philadelphia Union

Raymon Gaddis or Olivier Mbaizo (who is young and cheap) is the tough call here.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Alejandro Bedoya Brenden Aaronson RJ Allen Andre Blake Jack de Vries Joe Bendik Jack Elliott Anthony Fontana Cory Burke Ilsinho Matt Freese Aurelien Collin Olivier Mbaizo Mark McKenzie Warren Creavalle Haris Medunjanin Matthew Real Marco Fabian Jamiro Monteiro Auston Trusty Fabinho Fafa Picault Cole Turner Raymon Gaddis Kacper Przybylko Michee Ngalina Sergio Santos Kai Wagner Andrew Wooten

Portland Timbers

There's some intriguing options here, with Jeff Attinella being a potential starting goalkeeper, Andy Polo being a Peruvian international and the two starting-caliber fullbacks.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Sebastian Blanco Marco Farfan Dairon Asprilla Julio Cascante Foster Langsdorf Jeff Attinella Diego Chara Eryk Williamson Claude Dielna Steve Clark Andres Flores Tomas Conechny Aljaz Ivacic Jeremy Ebobisse Modou Jadama Brian Fernandez Marvin Loria Larrys Mabiala Kendall McIntosh Jorge Moreira Andy Polo Cristhian Paredes Zarek Valentin Bill Tuiloma Jorge Villafaña Diego Valeri Renzo Zambrano

Real Salt Lake

Joao Plata has been in and out of favor in recent years. He's probably the toughest call on the board for RSL, even if it's unlikely he gets selected.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Kyle Beckerman Danilo Acosta Alex Horwarth Nick Besler Luis Arriaga Luke Mulholland Sam Johnson Corey Baird Justin Portillo Damir Kreilach Justen Glad Andrew Putna Everton Luiz Aaron Herrera Kelyn Rowe Douglas Martinez Erik Holt Pablo Ruiz Nedum Onuoha Brooks Lennon Joao Plata David Ochoa Albert Rusnak Sebastian Saucedo Jefferson Savarino Tate Schmitt Marcelo Silva Julian Vazquez Donny Toia

San Jose Earthquakes

The Quakes have some tough decisions to make. Carlos Fierro's salary could be a reason to leave him unprotected.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Eric Calvillo Jacob Akanyirige Francois Affolter Harold Cummings Gilbert Fuentes Matt Bersano Magnus Eriksson Siad Haji Luis Felipe Cristian Espinoza Nick Lima Carlos Fierro Marcos Lopez JT Marcinkowski Danny Hoesen Judson Emmanuel Ochoa Paul Marie Florian Jungwirth Tommy Thompson Jimmy Ockford Guram Kashia Casey Walls Kevin Partida Andres Rios Jackson Yueill Shea Salinas Vako Andrew Tarbell Daniel Vega Chris Wondolowski

Seattle Sounders

The Nouhou show could be heading to a new city.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Xavier Arreaga Handwalla Bwana Saad Abdul-Salaam Emmanuel Cecchini Danny Leyva Will Bruin Stefan Frei Jordan Morris Jonathan Campbell Joevin Jones Trey Muse Jordy Delem Kim Kee-hee Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez Justin Dhillon Kelvin Leerdam Bryan Meredith Nicolas Lodeiro Alex Roldan Victor Rodriguez Harry Shipp Cristian Roldan Luis Silva Raul Ruidiaz Nouhou Tolo Brad Smith Roman Torres Gustav Svensson

Sporting Kansas City

There's a number of high-priced veterans that could be left unprotected among this group.

Protected (predicted) Automatically

Protected Unprotected (predicted) Botond Barath Gianluca Busio Eric Dick Matt Besler Cam Duke Benny Feilhaber Roger Espinoza Tyler Freeman Andreu Fontas Gerso Fernandes Felipe Hernandez Nicolas Hasler Felipe Gutierrez Wan Kuzain Erik Hurtado Luis Martins Jaylin Lindsey Jimmy Medranda Tim Melia Daniel Salloi Seth Sinovic Krisztian Nemeth Gedion Zelalem Johnny Russell Adrian Zendejas Ilie Sanchez Graham Smith Graham Zusi

Toronto FC

Ali Curtis has a few decisions to make among his wing options.