Week 1 of MLS Fantasy provided a snapshot of the fantasy potential that new players in MLS have, and how familiar faces fit in with their new clubs or coaches. It’s a small sample size, but it gives us something to go off of heading into Week 2. Let’s take a closer look at my top players at each position to help your team gain some ground this week.

Goalkeepers

Brad Guzan | USA Today Sports Images

Brad Guzan had a season opener to forget, but he’s in a strong bounce back spot at home Sunday (5 pm ET | ESPN, TSN4) against an FC Cincinnati squad that managed a league-worst seven shots in their inaugural game.

Rank Player Team Opponent Price 1 Brad Guzan ATL vs. CIN $5.9 2 Stefan Frei SEA vs. COL $6.0 3 Tim Melia SKC vs. PHI $6.0 4 Nick Rimando RSL vs. VAN $5.5 5 Sean Johnson NYC vs. DC $6.0 6 David Ousted CHI vs. ORL $4.9 7 Joe Willis HOU vs. MTL $5.1 8 Tyler Miller LAFC vs. POR $5.6 9 Jesse Gonzalez DAL vs. LA $5.6 10 Daniel Vega SJ vs. MIN $4.0

Defenders

Graham Zusi led all defenders in total fantasy points last season, and it wasn’t really even close. He offers arguably the most attacking upside of any defender in the game, and any time we can get a defender that gives us consistent fantasy points on both ends of the field — sign me up. If he avoids the Concacaf Champions League roster rotation landmines, Zusi is my top defender Sunday (3 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, DAZN in Canada) against a Union side that Toronto FC exploited in Week 1.

Rank Player Team Opponent Price 1 Graham Zusi SKC vs. PHI $6.8 2 Leandro Gonzalez Pirez ATL vs. CIN $6.4 3 Walker Zimmerman LAFC vs. POR $7.0 4 Michael Parkhurst ATL vs. CIN $5.6 5 Miles Robinson ATL vs. CIN $5.1 6 Mikey Ambrose ATL vs. CIN $4.6 7 Matt Besler SKC vs. PHI $6.9 8 Edgar Castillo NE vs. CLB $5.7 9 Kelvin Leerdam SEA vs. COL $5.5 10 Anton Tinnerholm NYC vs. DC $6.4 11 Chad Marshall SEA vs. COL $6.0 12 Brad Smith SEA vs. COL $5.3 13 Kim Kee-hee SEA vs. COL $5.4 14 Ryan Hollingshead DAL vs. LA $4.8 15 Matt Hedges DAL vs. LA $6.5 16 Reto Ziegler DAL vs. LA $5.7 17 Harrison Afful CLB at NE $6.7 18 Brooks Lennon RSL vs. VAN $5.5 19 Reggie Cannon DAL vs. LA $5.6 20 Larrys Mabiala POR at LAFC $6.9

Midfielders

Nicolas Lodeiro served up a quick reminder of why he’s regarded as the top fantasy midfielder in the game, dishing out two assists en route to a 14-point effort in Week 1. Up next is a visit Saturday (10 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, DAZN in Canada) from a Colorado Rapids unit that allowed three goals via 24 shots and 41 crosses on opening day.

Rank Player Team Opponent Price 1 Nicolas Lodeiro SEA vs. COL $11.5 2 Pity Martinez ATL vs. CIN $10.1 3 Ezequiel Barco ATL vs. CIN $7.7 4 Albert Rusnak RSL vs. VAN $10.5 5 Maxi Moralez NYC vs. DC $10.6 6 Ignacio Piatti MTL at HOU $11.3 7 Diego Valeri POR at LAFC $11.0 8 Victor Rodriguez SEA vs. COL $8.5 9 Johnny Russell SKC vs. PHI $9.1 10 Luciano Acosta DC at NYC $11.0 11 Damir Kreilach RSL vs. VAN $8.3 12 Carles Gil NE vs. CLB $9.4 13 Jefferson Savarino RSL vs. VAN $8.8 14 Saphir Taider MTL at HOU $11.0 15 Marco Fabian PHI at SKC $9.4 16 Vako SJ vs. MIN $8.8 17 Sebastian Blanco POR at LAFC $10.5 18 Federico Higuain CLB at NE $9.1 19 Nani ORL at CHI $9.4 20 Djordje Mihailovic CHI vs. ORL $7.7 21 Michael Barrios DAL vs. LA $7.9 22 Felipe Gutierrez SKC vs. PHI $8.4 23 Aleksandar Katai CHI vs. ORL $8.4 24 Przemyslaw Frankowski CHI vs. ORL $8.2 25 Magnus Eriksson SJ vs. MIN $7.4 26 Santiago Mosquera DAL vs. LA $7.4 27 Lee Nguyen LAFC vs. POR $8.1 28 Yordy Reyna VAN at RSL $9.1 29 Ilie Sanchez SKC vs. PHI $8.2 30 Brek Shea ATL vs. CIN $4.9

Forwards

Josef Martinez | USA Today Sports Images

Josef Martinez fired blanks in Week 1, but a visit from FC Cincy presents a good opportunity for last season’s Golden Boot presented by Audi winner to kickstart his 2019 campaign. As is the case with all players taking part in Concacaf Champions League, there’s reason for hesitation with roster rotation looming. If Martinez is included in the starting lineup, he’s in a prime spot against an Orange and Blue defense that conceded a league-high four goals on opening weekend.

Rank Player Team Opponent Price 1 Josef Martinez ATL vs. CIN $10.6 2 Carlos Vela LAFC vs. POR $10.8 3 Raul Ruidiaz SEA vs. COL $10.6 4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic LA at DAL $11.2 5 Alexandru Mitrita NYC vs. DC $10.4 6 Darwin Quintero MIN at SJ $11.5 7 Wayne Rooney DC at NYC $10.9 8 Mauro Manotas HOU vs. MTL $9.7 9 Hector Villalba ATL vs. CIN $8.1 10 Adama Diomande LAFC vs. POR $9.6 11 Krisztian Nemeth SKC vs. PHI $7.2 12 Jordan Morris SEA vs. COL $8.5 13 Alberth Elis HOU vs. MTL $9.1 14 Diego Rossi LAFC vs. POR $9.7 15 Dominique Badji DAL vs. LA $7.1 16 Nemanja Nikolic CHI vs. ORL $9.0 17 Chris Wondolowski SJ vs. MIN $6.8 18 Cristian Espinoza SJ vs. MIN $8.3 19 Daniel Salloi SKC vs. PHI $8.1 20 Sam Johnson RSL vs. VAN $7.6

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