DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday Liga MX Breakdown

MATCH PREVIEWS

Monterrey at CF America ­(6:00 p.m. EDT)

Lineup rotation may come into play, as America played Wednesday night in the CONCACAF Champions League final. With that being said, they are currently in the midst of a 182-minute goal-scoring drought in league play and should be looking to break that here. Monterrey come in on top of the table, but they play higher­-scoring affairs, as evidenced by their run of 16 consecutive away matches hitting over 2.5 goals. Monterrey have won six of their last seven, and have scored at least two goals in their last four, so I will certainly be targeting the Monterrey attack in cash games. The motivation for CF America is up in the air at this point of the season after their recent slip, but they should aim to build off their big win Wednesday and put on a show for the home crowd, where they play a more explosive brand of football. Their attack makes an excellent GPP play as it should go low owned.

Veracruz at Tigres ­(8:00 p.m.)

Veracruz are a poor road team, losing five of their last six away from home, and they have yet to win a game away from Estadio Luis Fuente all season. They did, however, score a tidy home win against Cruz Azul in their last outing while Tigres have been in total free fall. A loss to CF America in the CONCACAF Champions league has only furthered the pain caused by their poor recent Liga MX form, which has them winless in six of their last seven, only managing to beat the already­ relegated Dorados. DraftKings' pricing, however, adores Tigres and for some reason they have five of the six highest priced players in this matchup. That includes Nahuel Guzmán, who has recorded a goose egg in the fantasy column five times this season. The Tigres forwards are always intriguing plays as they are incredibly talented and don't need goals to score fantasy points, and Vegas will add fuel to the fire by making Tigres the biggest favorite on the board. The key here is making sure that prohibitive pricing doesn't ruin the rest of your lineup if you choose to believe in Tigres.

I love a red shark as much as the next guy, but I am not too interested in anything Veracruz have to offer. Players like Daniel Villalva are usually great bargains compared to the top tier, but there are simply too many options to choose from in that price range on a five-game slate.

Pachuca at Leon ­(9:06 p.m.)

Every slate has a game like this, where you can look at it every angle, flip it upside down and shake its pockets out only to realize that you don't understand it any better than you did earlier. A lot of times I get an early read on games and live and die by that (big wins by riding Atlas in certain matches, and big losses by auto­-fading Dorados lately will speak to that) but in this one I am puzzled. Vegas is right there with me, with Leon a tiny favorite simply due to a lack of recent away form for Pachuca (that's my guess, at least). Pachuca's overall form is fantastic, however. ESPN's Nayib Moran has them ranked second in the power rankings and I honestly cannot disagree, especially after stopping the resurgent Chivas and not losing at home. Leon has been great too, however, as they are on an unbeaten run of three games and gearing up for a look at a championship. Instead of trying to get a feel for the outcome, I would recommend looking at individual players with high floors, as the match could finish 0­-0 just as easily as 3-­3. You don't get enough bullets in multi-entry GPPs to take a chance and build a lineup around either of these times, so I would try to find value and complementing players from this matchup. Enjoy though, it should be great football.

Santos at Morelia ­(9:30 p.m.)

If you love watching football you'll want to tune into this match, and if you are looking for sneaky fantasy games to love, then this should be your first stop. I am hoping that the public will read too much into Morelia getting shut down by Dorados in their last match and forget that Morelia were on a four-match winning streak, and that Dorados are surprisingly stingy at home. My other hope is that the public will enjoy Santos Laguna's three-match winning streak, as they are a completely different animal at home than on the road. They have not played a match that comes close to facing Morelia at home, where Morelia have not conceded since March 13. The under 2.5 goals has hit in six of the last seven home matches for Morelia, and given their form I like them to win a low-scoring affair here. If you like to chase clean sheets, any starting defenders and goalkeepers on the Morelia side are in play, as well as some lovely bargain bin forwards for GPPs.

Atlas at Chiapas ­(10:00 p.m.)

This is very much a 'something's gotta give' matchup: an underwhelming Atlas attack versus the leaky Chiapas defense. Atlas have not won in league play since Feb. 20 and are a big underdog. Chiapas are actually the second-favorite to get the win, according to Vegas, but with rumors abound that the club might be up for sale and nothing at all to play for, it's hard to see the team tied for the most losses getting up for a late-season match. I would actually keep an eye on starting lineups here, as this is a prime spot for large roster changes, though that shouldn't affect fantasy lineups too much as there isn't much to love here in cash games. One sneaky play that I do like is to target Atlas in a GPP lineup. I usually like to do this on smaller slates where there are fewer options, and keep in mind that you will only get two lineups in multi­-entry tournaments on DraftKings.

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

FORWARDS

The choice between Andre-­Pierre Gignac ($8,500) and Rafael Sobis ($7,000) is always a difficult decision when Tigres are on a slate, and it should come down to how much salary you have left. There are plenty of places to find value on this slate to help you get up to Gignac, and while I will usually never pay that much for a forward not named Cristiano Ronaldo, this is the one time all season that his price tag is actually worth considering. He scored the opening goal and looked generally dangerous against America in the CONCACAF Champions League. Sobis, on the other hand, is not to be thought of as simply a consolation prize, as he presents much better value and is one of the only forwards with a safe floor. You'll be hard pressed to find other forwards that put up 24 and 31 fantasy points without scoring a goal, so fade in cash at your own risk.

Dorlan Pabón, MNT at AMR ($7,000): While he shares a price tag with Sobis, Pabòn is probably my favorite play of the night at forward. He can do it all, and as chalky as he will be (the lowest owned I have seen him in GPP play has been 83 percent), you simply cannot afford to fade him. People who love football know he's incredible, and game-log watchers know 10 points is a terrible night for him.

Silvio Romero, CHI v. ATL ($5,400): I like a forward that can pile up points without relying on goals, but on this slate you will have to spend up to Pabon or Sobis to get that. Romero is a cheaper option if you plan to use a midfield stack, as he will certainly be firing shots on net and can reach double-digit fantasy points without any of them finding the back. Against basement dwellers Atlas, however, I'd bet he does.

Michael Arroyo, AMR v. MNT ($3,100): Arroyo came on in the 65th minute and scored for America in CONCACAF play Wednesday night, and this could lead to a bit more rope as the club season winds down, but be sure to check starting lineups before you plug him into a GPP lineup.

Albín, VER at DIG ($3,700): I did say avoid Veracruz; I know I did. However, Albín is on a two-game goal-scoring streak and I don't know about you, but Tigres are not a club that scares anyone right now. I think they will win the match, but Albín can certainly find the back of the net and will be very low owned.

MIDFIELDERS

Elias Hernandez, LEO v. PCH ($8,400): I'm a spend­-up-­for-­midfielders kind of DFS player, and there is no better place to spend up, as Hernandez has scored 16, 23, 19, 43, 29, 20, 30, and 20 fantasy points in games he has played at least 80 minutes. This should be a close, exciting match and Leon will need him. There was a four-week stretch in which Hernandez almost averaged one cross every five minutes.

Hirving Lozano, PCH at LEO ($6,000):­ Minutes played is often an overlooked statistic to casual DFS players, especially in this league ,but Lozano has been on the pitch for every minute of every match he has been available. This kid can do it all, as evidenced by his 43-point explosion last month against Veracruz. European clubs are calling, and while I think it would be a big loss to the league if he were to go, he's aiming to impress, and the shots and crosses are guaranteed.

Osvaldo Martinez, AMR v. MNT ($4,800): Martinez scored in the CONCACAF Champions League match Wednesday night from the penalty spot, and he is mainly here as a cheaper alternative to Rubens Sambueza ($8,200). On this larger slate, it might be difficult to work Sambueza into your lineup, but Martinez is a great pivot as $4,800 is not much to pay for a midfielder that will shoot the ball, send in a few crosses, take set pieces, and now (finally!) play deep into games.

Juan Pablo Rodriguez, MOR v. CSL ($4,200): If DraftKings is going to let you have Morelia's best midfielder for used sedan prices, then grab him. Morelia has a good chance of controlling this game and scoring, and Rodriguez has secured minutes on the wing, 20+ point potential and a good floor. He also has the benefit of two off games that should scare away game-log watchers. I'm surprised you can get this price without a coupon.

Jürgen Damm, TIG v. VER ($3,200): Damm is an intriguing play he carries double-digit potential despite the relatively low price. He sends in a lot of crosses and his minutes have been much safer lately. If Veracruz can get on the board that would help Damm's cross count for sure, and his price can help give your lineup some breathing room.

Bryan Rabello, CSL at MOR ($4,400): Just playing the recent form game, Rabello scored last week in league play for the first time since January. I'm a big fan of Morelia in this spot, so I won't be taking a Santos midfielder, but I think at this price tag he should be very low owned and could reward someone who wants to roll with hot form in a GPP.

DEFENDERS

Guillermo Burdisso, LEO v. PCH ($3,700): My hot ­take of the week is that Burdisso is one of the best defenders in Liga MX right now. A pitfall of DFS is to focus too much on defenders that can contribute offensively and pass up excellently ­priced ones that can pile up interceptions and tackles won. Burdisso is as shut­down as they come and will get you all the defensive stats you can handle.

Jorge Torres Nilo, TIG v. VER ($3,500): He is essentially Burdisso but for those that have $200 less to spend. I'm not much for clean-sheet chasing, but if you want to do that then Tigres is a great place to start in this matchup with Veracruz.

Hugo Ayala, TIG v. VER ($2,600): Ayala is a steady, solid and cheap way to get exposure to someone who will play 90 minutes and have the best shot at getting a clean sheet bonus.

Facundo Erpen, MOR v. CSL ($2,500): Yes, he scored two weeks ago, but that's not the point. Erpen can get you double-digit fantasy points with defensive statistics as well, and he should be hard on the ball, play the full 90 and get a clean sheet. I don't see Santos getting on the board, and Erpen is a great way to benefit from that. If Santos does not score, it will be due to many tackles and interceptions from this man.

GOALKEEPERS

William Yarbrough, LEO v. PCH ($3,600): I think the phrase "low quality shots" is something I'm just stealing from hockey and trying to apply to football, but Leon are great at this. Yarbrough is a great goalie in his own right, but Leon seem to be one of the strongest teams at limiting quality chances, forcing opponents to take longer range and lower quality shots. Yarbrough always seems to pile up saves and is at a nice combination of price and upside.

Carlos Rodriguez, MOR v. CSL ($3,400): If I haven't beaten this dead horse enough, I love Morelia in this spot at home against Santos and cannot understand why Rodriguez is one of the cheapest keepers on the slate. I'm just puzzled. He's a good keeper at home in a great matchup. Go crazy.