It’s beginning to look a lot like Double Game Week, points are set to soar. Take a look at the Galaxy, LA’s quite the place to be with Montreal too productive to ignore.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Double Game Week, everyone gets more. But the prettiest sight to see, is the midfield which will be where your team shall score.
With all respect to Bing Crosby, I must admit that I’m a mite excited with a massive DGW this round. There are six Wednesday kickoffs east of the Mississippi, but with the Portland Timbers on the league’s longest winning streak and the Galaxy coming off a five-goal performance this weekend, the most compelling game might be in Carson, Calif.
Gyasi Zardes ($9.8) and Baggio Husidic ($8.2) from LA and Jorge Villafaña ($6.4) of Portland made the fantasy dream team for their scores last round, with Juninho ($8.5) turning in a big performance as well. Maxi Urruti ($8.7) and Gaston Fernandez ($8.7) aren’t players to sleep on either – incorporating that grouping of players last week would have fetched quite a score.
So who is worth adding on for the week ahead? Husidic is only two points off Javier Morales’ ($11.5) total score and three points behind Chris Rolfe ($9.2). Yet look how much cheaper he and his teammate Juninho are. If you’re looking for midfield options going into the DGW, those two are certainly an attractive pair.
The note of caution here is that the Gold Cup is right around the corner. The combination of injuries, key departures and international absences have led LA to a bit of an MLS Cup hangover so far this season. Losing Jaime Penedo, Omar Gonzalez and Zardes for another extended period could lead to a repeat of the unstable times.
But let’s not forget Portland. Villafaña soared, but the rest of the backline were proud recipients of clean sheet bonuses last week. It’ll be interesting to see if Caleb Porter continues to rotate Nat Borchers ($8.2) and Norberto Paparatto ($6.7), but Alvas Powell ($7.2) – who will be heading to the Jamaican national team for the Gold Cup at some point – is worth taking a look at. Facing LA and Seattle will be a tough task, but getting to host the Sounders without Clint Dempsey or Obafemi Martins is certainly fortuitous.
So let’s see if this helps our case of the week. Hector Manley has been struggling as of late and needs a bit of a pick me up.
Dear MLS Fantasy Doctor,
I need your help. Got 19 pts. last round. Lost 3 in a row in starting lineup h2h. Help!
Your team could certainly use a few more players that are likely to feature Wednesday, so let’s work on making those adjustments. Sean Franklin and his injury represent $8.2 sitting on your bench unused. Let’s switch him out for Montreal’s Donny Toia ($4.8). His clean sheet and a goal last week got him onto the Dream Team. The likelihood of an exact repeat performance isn’t great, but you can’t argue with that price. If Montreal pull of one clean sheet this week, then things are looking fantastic.
That savings of $3.4 makes the transfer of Ryan Hollingshead enough to go after a midfielder worth up to $8.8. Thus we can apply this week’s advice and snatch up Juninho. Historically, once Juninho opens his account, a handful more should fall out. If you want to save a little more scratch, go with Husidic.
Hope this helps!
-- MLS Fantasy Doctor
