This article is part of our MLS Fantasy Rankings series.
GAMES (EDT)
- Saturday, 4:30 pm: Orlando City SC vs. New York Red Bulls
- Saturday, 7:00 pm: D.C. United vs. Atlanta United
- Saturday, 7:30 pm: Montreal Impact vs. Chicago Fire
- Saturday, 7:30 pm: New England Revolution vs. Nashville SC
- Saturday, 7:30 pm: Toronto FC vs. Philadelphia Union
- Saturday, 8:00 pm: Houston Dynamo vs. Sporting Kansas City
- Saturday, 8:00 pm: Inter Miami CF vs. New York City FC
- Saturday, 8:00 pm: Minnesota United vs. FC Cincinnati
- Saturday, 8:30 pm: FC Dallas vs. Columbus Crew
- Saturday, 10:00 pm: Seattle Sounders FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Saturday, 10:30 pm: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
- Sunday, 9:30 pm: Real Salt Lake vs. Los Angeles Football Club
For detailed stats and odds, check out the
Forwards | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Raul Ruidiaz | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 13.3 | Ruidiaz leads the league in expected goals, plays on the team that has scored the most goals, and is playing against the team allowing the second most goals. |
2 | Diego Rossi | LAFC | LAFC at RSL | 8.6 | It's been a relatively quiet stretch for Rossi, but Salt Lake shouldn't pose much of a challenge. |
3 | Robert Beric | CHI | CHI at MTL | 10.4 | With Luis Binks suspended and a good chunk of the rest of the team ailing, Montreal will have a tough time stopping Chicago. |
4 | Jordan Morris | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 12.7 | I like Morris almost as much as Ruidiaz. It's worth noting I don't think I'll double up on Seattle forwards given their appealing options at other positions, too. |
5 | Gonzalo Higuain | INT | INT v. NYC | 9.5 | He's going to be a force. However, he's still getting used to teammates and is playing against a team that has given up just six goals all year. No need to force him into your lineup just because of the star power. |
6 | Cristian Pavon | LAG | LAG at SJ | 10.4 | San Jose have given up a laughable five or more goals in 3 of the last 6 matches! That matters much more to me than Galaxy's scoring drought. |
7 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | LAFC | LAFC at RSL | 8.6 | |
8 | Gustavo Bou | NE | NE v. NSH | 9.9 | Nashville are stingy enough defensively that I don't need to go out of my way to roster Bou this week. |
9 | Kei Kamara | MIN | MIN v. FCC | 5.6 | I have a weird feeling Cincy play well in this match, but I have to stick with the noggin' - Minnesota should dispatch them without much trouble. |
10 | Brian Rodriguez | LAFC | LAFC at RSL | 8.2 | |
11 | Alan Pulido | SKC | SKC at HOU | 9.4 | Pulido is both returning from injury and on the verge of going to national team camp (maybe). It's hard to forget how brightly his season started, and Houston's bland defense may give him another chance to shine. |
12 | Jozy Altidore | TOR | TOR v. PHI | 6.5 | These next four forwards are usually top choices, but given their tough matchups, I'm not giving them much consideration this week. |
13 | Kacper Przybylko | PHI | PHI at TOR | 13.0 | |
14 | Franco Jara | DAL | DAL v. CLB | 9.0 | |
15 | Gyasi Zardes | CLB | CLB at DAL | 10.8 | |
16 | Chicharito | LAG | LAG at SJ | 7.2 | Stoppable force (Chich) vs. Movable Object (SJ Defense). |
17 | Daryl Dike | ORL | ORL v. RBNY | 4.0 | Tesho may start instead but Dike is the more exciting option. |
18 | Valentin Castellanos | NYC | NYC at INT | 4.0 | Shoots a ton in nearly every match he features in. |
19 | Mauro Manotas | HOU | HOU v. SKC | 5.1 | |
20 | Ola Kamara | DCU | DCU v. ATL | 5.2 |
Midfielders | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Nicolas Lodeiro | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 14.7 | The Mr. Consistent to fellow Seattle star Russell Wilson's Mr. Unlimited. |
2 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR | TOR v. PHI | 15.5 | I'm a sucker for this Union team, but Pozuelo will be tough to leave out. |
3 | Emanuel Reynoso | MIN | MIN v. FCC | 8.4 | |
4 | Johnny Russell | NYC | NYC at INT | 10.4 | Russell-Lundkvist is one of the least fair matchups of the season. |
5 | Joao Paulo | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 11.7 | You can pay $3.0 more for penalty kick duties, but otherwise both Lodeiro and Paulo are bonus point fiends. I think I'll only have room for one Seattle mid. |
6 | Lucas Zelarayan | CLB | CLB at DAL | 9.3 | |
7 | Carlos Darwin Quintero | HOU | HOU v. SKC | 9.2 | |
8 | Nani | ORL | ORL v. RBNY | 9.5 | |
9 | Sebastian Lletget | LAG | LAG at SJ | 9.2 | Galaxy have been shut out in three straight games, but San Jose is the best possible get right matchup. |
10 | Pedro Santos | CLB | CLB at DAL | 10.2 | |
11 | Rodolfo Pizarro | INT | INT v. NYC | 8.4 | If we like Higuain, we have to like Pizarro at least a little bit. |
12 | Cristian Roldan | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 7.6 | |
13 | Jan Gregus | MIN | MIN v. FCC | 7.5 | |
14 | Mark-Anthony Kaye | LAFC | LAFC at RSL | 9.5 | |
15 | Alvaro Medran | CHI | CHI at MTL | 11.0 | I also like Gaston Gimenez and think having two Chicago players is a pretty good idea this week. |
16 | Alexandru Mitrita | NYC | NYC at INT | 6.0 | |
17 | Fabian Herbers | CHI | CHI at MTL | 10.1 | After being one of the first players Wicky calls off the field for most of the year, Herbers has strung together two really impressive near-90 minute performances. |
18 | Chris Mueller | ORL | ORL v. RBNY | 8.9 | |
19 | Kaku | RBNY | RBNY at ORL | 10.0 | As usual, Kaku/Royer/etc all pretty even. |
20 | Pablo Piatti | TOR | TOR v. PHI | 9.8 |
Defenders | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Kelvin Leerdam | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 10.5 | |
2 | Nouhou Tolo | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 4.2 | Nouhou is the presumed starter despite a knock and Brad Smith's recent signing. Smith is in the same price range and would be an even better option. |
3 | Romain Metanire | MIN | MIN v. FCC | 7.0 | |
4 | Anton Tinnerholm | NYC | NYC at INT | 10.0 | I usually prefer Tinnerholm to Matarrita by a little bit, but even more this week considering Mata will have to deal with Lewis Morgan on his side. |
5 | Richie Laryea | TOR | TOR v. PHI | 8.2 | |
6 | Chase Gasper | MIN | MIN v. FCC | 6.1 | My only issue with using Gasper is that about a third of his games feel like he's on the verge of a red card. Good on him for tiptoeing the line, I guess. |
7 | Brandon Bye | NE | NE v. NSH | 7.7 | Revs defenders could be ranked even higher, due to Nashville's banged up and already poor to begin with attack. New England isn't ideally built to defend a counterattack, though, which makes me the tiniest bit nervous. |
8 | Ronald Matarrita | NYC | NYC at INT | 9.7 | |
9 | Yeimar Gomez | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 10.3 | |
10 | Frederick Henry Kessler | NE | NE v. NSH | 7.0 | Can't count on Kessler's aerial prowess with Walker Zimmerman owning the center of the box on set pieces. |
11 | Reto Ziegler | DAL | DAL v. CLB | 11.7 | Yeah he's on penalties and some set pieces, but there are so many chances at a clean sheet this week that I can't justify playing him against such a good team. |
12 | Michael Boxall | MIN | MIN v. FCC | 7.4 | |
13 | Jonathan Bornstein | CHI | CHI at MTL | 4.5 | Between Bornstein and Sekulic, I don't think paying up for Calvo is necessary. |
14 | Harrison Afful | CLB | CLB at DAL | 9.8 | |
15 | Jonathan Mensah | CLB | CLB at DAL | 10.8 | |
16 | Boris Sekulic | CHI | CHI at MTL | 5.8 | |
17 | Milton Valenzuela | CLB | CLB at DAL | 9.6 | |
18 | Walker Zimmerman | NSH | NSH at NE | 9.1 | |
19 | Diego Palacios | LAFC | LAFC at RSL | 5.2 | LAFC defense make a good backup option if your bench defenders falter and/or if you want to shift your Seattle allotment to attackers. |
20 | Eddie Segura | LAFC | LAFC at RSL | 7.0 |
Goalkeepers | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Stefan Frei | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 7.6 | For my money, Frei remains the best keeper in the league and Seattle are the only Western Conference team giving up no more than a goal per game on average. He's cheaper than many on this list, too! |
2 | Dayne St. Clair | MIN | MIN v. FCC | 8.5 | Cincy have played six games in September. Their xG (expected goals) have been under 0.5 in half of them! |
3 | Matt Turner | NE | NE v. NSH | 9.1 | The final in a clear top tier of three. |
4 | Eloy Room | CLB | CLB at DAL | 9.2 | Yes, Dallas are first in the West. They've also been held scoreless in two straight. |
5 | Pedro Gallese | ORL | ORL v. RBNY | 8.1 | Orlando are in the midst of an impressive run of play, but Red Bulls have scored four in each of their past two matches, making me just nervous enough to not put Gallese in that top tier this week. |
6 | Bill Hamid | DCU | DCU v. ATL | 5.3 | Cheap and in an early game, so he'll be a popular bench keeper. |
7 | Pablo Sisniega | LAFC | LAFC at RSL | 5.3 | |
8 | Sean Johnson | NYC | NYC at INT | 11.4 | |
9 | David Bingham | LAG | LAG at SJ | 8.9 | |
10 | Brad Guzan | ATL | ATL at DCU | 7.5 | Given my ranking (or lackthereof) of DC United forwards and mids, Guzan becomes a "Wait...maybe that's not the worst idea" play. |
Value Rankings | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(forwards and midfielders under $7.5, defenders under $6.0; not ranked above) | |||||
Rank | Player | Team | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Ismael Tajouri-Shradi | NYC | NYC at INT | 5.6 | Seriously underpriced given his increased role in a Heber-less attack. |
2 | Eduard Atuesta | LAFC | LAFC at RSL | 6.9 | I know he's still working his way back to full form, but we'd have jumped at the chance to use Atuesta this cheaply last year. |
3 | Adam Buksa | NE | NE v. NSH | 4.8 | Nashville's cautious defensive style make me think Buksa will start and be a target in the box all game long. |
4 | Ben Sweat | INT | INT v. NYC | 5.6 | It'll be a shame if Miami turn into a team that just launches crosses into Higuain, but Sweat would become an even better fantasy option. |
5 | Tom Barlow | RBNY | RBNY at ORL | 4.0 | |
6 | Yordy Reyna | DCU | DCU v. ATL | 4.0 | There's an outside chance that DC surprise us and they play early making for a good switcheroo structure to use a 4.0 Reyna. |
7 | Julian Gressel | DCU | DCU v. ATL | 7.2 | Revenge! |
8 | Memo Rodriguez | HOU | HOU v. SKC | 7.4 | |
9 | Bakaye Dibassy | MIN | MIN v. FCC | 5.8 | Dibassy and Teran (Chicago) are two centerbacks I'm not positive will start but are great prices in great matchups. |
10 | Lee Nguyen | NE | NE v. NSH | 5.3 |
Captain Rankings | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team | Matchup | Price | Notes |
1 | Nicolas Lodeiro | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 14.7 | If you're holding a top-100 champions league spot, I don't know how you stray from Nico. |
2 | Alejandro Pozuelo | TOR | TOR v. PHI | 15.5 | Unlikely to appeal to most as a captain choice, but have to stick with my ranking! |
3 | Emanuel Reynoso | MIN | MIN v. FCC | 8.4 | Honestly can't decide if Cincy's bunker will hurt or benefit Reynoso given the current state of Minnesota's attack. I do know Reynoso is really really good, though. |
4 | Raul Ruidiaz | SEA | SEA v. VAN | 13.3 | I have a tough time picking Ruidiaz over the safety of Lodeiro. |
5 | Diego Rossi | LAFC | LAFC at RSL | 8.6 | Russell, Beric, and JoMo and Pavon all are tempting choices, too. It's a good week for captain diversity. |