and a little luck to boot. Having Conrad on your team last week made sense, since he was playing at home, but the two goals were definitely a surprise. What a bonus! We had defender Troy Roberts on our team for the last week of the 2007 season, and he scored a goal, which helped us to win the Grand Prize! So you never know what player might step up for you on a given week. Make sure you're in position to make it happen.
This week's focus: Top five undervalued forwards:Ivan Trujillo (KC, $300,000). The Colombian made an impact in his debut with Kansas City, scoring a goal to help the Wizards to victory in their season opener, and just missed on some chances in the second.
Adam Cristman (NE, $262,000). With Taylor Twellman out 4-8 weeks with a knee injury, Cristman will get many opportunities to score.
Kenny Deuchar (RSL, $220,000). "Dr. Goals" scored 63 goals in 90 games with Scottish 3rd division club Gretna. In his starting debut with RSL last week, he scored a goal in a losing effort.
Santino Quaranta (DC, $200,000). Quaranta has looked impressive in his first two MLS games this season, contributing a goal and an assist in his last game. Will he still play when a healthy Moreno returns?
Omar Cummings (COL, $224,000). The 31st overall pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Cincinnati has looked dangerous in the early going. He scored a goal in the first game of the season, and then tacked on an assist to his tally in the second game.
Tip of the Week: Kansas City and New England play two games this week. Play three players from each team to maximize your point opportunities.
This week's Top XI for points:Goalkeeper: Matt Reis (NE). This was a toss-up between Reis and Kevin Hartman. Both play two games this week, but we feel that Reis has a better chance for a shutout this week than Hartman.
Defender: Michael Harrington (KC). Harrington plays twice this week and has already proven to be dangerous this season on the offensive end.
Defender: Gonzalo Segares (CHI). The Costa Rican international has offensive flair for a defender. His overlapping runs were very dangerous last week against New England. Playing against offensively challenged San Jose should lead to shutout points here.
Defender: Chris Albright (NE). We feel that with the loss of Twellman, Ralston and Larentowicz for this game, New England might fall into more of a 4-4-2 lineup this week. This should free Albright to make more offensive runs than in the three-man backline they have been running, in addition to putting them into more of a defensive mentality.
Midfielder: David Beckham (LA). However you say it, "sexy football, fútbol or soccer" appears to be back. If the Galaxy midfielders can get the ball to Beckham faster, he could tack on a few more goals to the one he scored last week.
Midfielder: Carlos Marinelli (KC). Kansas City plays twice this week (both games at home), giving many opportunities for Marinelli to score points off his very dangerous free kicks, as he proved last week with two assists in the win over Colorado.
Midfielder: Arturo Alvarez (DAL). Alvarez plays at home this week against a New York team that looked very good last week. However, the Red Bulls' 2007 road record was one of the worst in the league. Which N.Y. team will show up? After this past week's performance (one goal, one assist) against a good Houston defense, we'll bet on Alvarez.
Midfielder: Cuauhtemoc Blanco (CHI). Blanco plays against the expansion San Jose team, which in their first game left something to be desired. In his first two games he has shown a flair that has continued on from last year. He makes all players around him look better.
Forward: Adam Cristman (NE). The Virginia alumnus has the opportunity to show his worth with Taylor Twellman out for the next few weeks. With two games to play this week, one at home, Cristman should do well, having already scored a goal this year at home.
Forward: Landon Donovan (LA). Playing against expansion Toronto FC (OK, it's their second year, but they're still playing like their an expansion team) should help Donovan to continue to pick up points as he did last week against the real expansion team, the San Jose Earthquakes. If the Galaxy's "supporting cast" can start putting away chances, it will help to inflate Donovan and Beckham's numbers even more.
Forward: Claudio Lopez (KC). "El Piojo" has been exciting in his first two weeks in the league. The former Argentinean national team player has two home games scheduled this week, which should lead to big points.
Our official teams for Week 3:
Dave:
GK Matt Reis; DF Stephen Keel; DF Tyson Wahl; DF Marc Burch; MF Eddie Gaven; MF Arturo Alvarez; MF Carlos Marinelli; MF David Beckham; FW Claudio Lopez; FW Landon Donovan; FW Kenny Mansally. Coach Tom Soehn. Bench: Jon Busch, Sacha Kljestan, Luciano Emilio.
Roster Moves:
Traded GK Will Hesmer for GK Matt Reis, traded Coach Tom Soehn for Coach Curt Onalfo, traded FW Kenny Cooper for FW Claudio Lopez, moved FW Luciano Emilio and MF Sacha Kljestan to bench, moved Kenny Mansally and Arturo Alvarez to forward and midfielder, respectively.
Jimmy:
GK Matt Reis; DF Stephen Keel; DF Tyson Wahl; DF Marc Burch; MF Cuauhtemoc Blanco; MF David Beckham; MF Carlos Marinelli; MF Dax McCarty; FW Luciano Emilio; FW Claudio Lopez; FW Landon Donovan. Coach: Ruud Gullit. Bench: GK Jon Busch, MF Stuart Holden, FW Omar Cummings
Roster Moves:
Traded GK Will Hesmer for GK Matt Reis, traded MF Sacha Kljestan for MF Carlos Marinelli, and traded GK Zach Wells for FW Omar Cummings.
Next week's focus: We take a look at the undervalued midfielders.
Questions? Comments? Contact us at mlsfantasygurus@comcast.net.
