The moment is finally here: The Round 17 Double Game Week!
Twelve out of 20 teams play twice this week, which means – in theory – that we should be in for a points bonanza. We’ve all seen how that sometimes doesn’t pan out – I’m looking at you, David Villa – but on the whole, more matches equates to more points.
I’ve been keeping track of how managers have prepared themselves over the last two weeks. Here are the top 20 players brought in during the two transfer windows since Round 15’s unlimited transfer wildcard:
| Top 20 Ownership % Increases – Round 15 to 16 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Pos | Pts | Cost | Rnd 15 | Rnd 16 | +/- |
| Sebastian Giovinco | TOR | MID | 93 | $12.1 | 8.6% | 18.0% | 9.4% |
| Benny Feilhaber | SKC | MID | 114 | $10.2 | 20.8% | 25.0% | 4.2% |
| Octavio Rivero | VAN | FWD | 80 | $9.1 | 21.1% | 23.1% | 2.0% |
| Bradley Wright-Phillips | NYR | FWD | 70 | $11.1 | 12.2% | 14.1% | 1.9% |
| Tyrone Mears | SEA | DEF | 72 | $6.9 | 14.6% | 16.1% | 1.5% |
| Will Bruin | HOU | FWD | 64 | $ 8.4 | 3.0% | 4.5% | 1.5% |
| Jorge Villafaña | POR | DEF | 71 | $6.4 | 3.3% | 4.6% | 1.3% |
| Luke Moore | TOR | FWD | 27 | $6.6 | 3.7% | 4.9% | 1.2% |
| Scott Caldwell | NE | MID | 77 | $7.5 | 19.2% | 20.3% | 1.1% |
| Robbie Keane | LA | FWD | 30 | $11.0 | 10.7% | 11.7% | 1.0% |
| Jalil Anibaba | SKC | DEF | 70 | $6.7 | 5.1% | 6.1% | 1.0% |
| Justin Morrow | TOR | DEF | 45 | $6.2 | 5.7% | 6.7% | 1.0% |
| Cyle Larin | ORL | FWD | 49 | $5.9 | 8.9% | 9.8% | 0.9% |
| Alvas Powell | POR | DEF | 76 | $7.2 | 3.6% | 4.4% | 0.8% |
| Lloyd Sam | NYR | MID | 71 | $9.1 | 6.7% | 7.5% | 0.8% |
| Krisztian Nemeth | SKC | FWD | 65 | $8.5 | 2.0% | 2.8% | 0.8% |
| Michael Harrington | COL | DEF | 54 | $5.4 | 13.6% | 14.3% | 0.7% |
| Charlie Davies | NE | FWD | 70 | $9.2 | 7.0% | 7.7% | 0.7% |
| Amadou Dia | SKC | DEF | 30 | $4.5 | 13.0% | 13.7% | 0.7% |
| Javier Morales | RSL | MID | 75 | $11.5 | 4.3% | 4.9% | 0.6% |
| Top 20 Ownership % Increases – Round 16 to Today | |||||||
| Player | Team | Pos | Pts | Cost | Rnd 16 | Today | +/- |
| Kei Kamara | CLB | FWD | 90 | $9.1 | 26.8% | 29.8% | 3.0% |
| Sebastian Giovinco | TOR | MID | 93 | $12.1 | 18.0% | 20.3% | 2.3% |
| Jorge Villafaña | POR | DEF | 71 | $6.4 | 4.6% | 6.9% | 2.3% |
| Alvas Powell | POR | DEF | 76 | $7.2 | 4.4% | 6.2% | 1.8% |
| Ethan Finlay | CLB | MID | 79 | $8.5 | 11.3% | 13.1% | 1.8% |
| Juninho | LA | MID | 76 | $8.5 | 6.6% | 7.5% | 0.9% |
| Javier Morales | RSL | MID | 75 | $11.5 | 4.9% | 5.8% | 0.9% |
| C.J. Sapong | PHI | FWD | 41 | $7.1 | 1.9% | 2.7% | 0.8% |
| Charlie Davies | NE | FWD | 70 | $9.2 | 7.7% | 8.5% | 0.8% |
| Gyasi Zardes | LA | FWD | 59 | $9.8 | 11.2% | 11.9% | 0.7% |
| Donny Toia | MTL | DEF | 36 | $4.8 | 9.8% | 10.5% | 0.7% |
| Chris Rolfe | DC | MID | 76 | $9.2 | 3.6% | 4.1% | 0.5% |
| Baggio Husidic | LA | MID | 73 | $8.2 | 0.9% | 1.3% | 0.4% |
| Cristian Maidana | PHI | MID | 67 | $8.9 | 1.3% | 1.7% | 0.4% |
| Laurent Ciman | MTL | DEF | 64 | $7.8 | 7.4% | 7.8% | 0.4% |
| Robbie Keane | LA | FWD | 30 | $11.0 | 11.7% | 12.0% | 0.3% |
| London Woodberry | NE | DEF | 33 | $4.5 | 9.5% | 9.8% | 0.3% |
| Omar Gonzalez | LA | DEF | 102 | $10.0 | 18.2% | 18.5% | 0.3% |
| Adam Kwarasey | POR | GKP | 79 | $5.7 | 2.0% | 2.3% | 0.3% |
| Marco Pappa | SEA | MID | 74 | $9.2 | 3.8% | 4.1% | 0.3% |
Only one goalkeeper managed to crack the top 20 for either week: Portland’s Adam Kwarasey, following his shutout against Houston last weekend. It looks like most active managers set up their goalkeepers for this week during the unlimited transfer window. Nice planning!
Speaking of the Timbers, managers are buying in on the Portland back line, too. Jorge Villafaña and Alvas Powell saw the largest spikes in ownership for defenders this week. Elsewhere, Donny Toia’s 12 points last week definitely convinced a few of you to take a gamble on the ridiculously cheap ($4.8m) Montreal defender.
It’s no surprise that Sebastian Giovinco tops the list of attack-minded players transferred in over the last two weeks. Even with his unusual two-point performance last week, he’s still averaging 8.0 points per game over his last four matches.
Kei Kamara leads the way for forward options this week, despite not scoring a goal in Columbus’ last three matches. Bradley Wright-Phillips would have been number two on this list if it hadn’t been for his unfortunate record-breaking match last weekend. Keep an eye on C.J. Sapong – he’s scored in four out of the last five matches, including the lone goal in Philadelphia’s 5-1 rout at the hands of the LA Galaxy.
Which inclusions or exclusions from this list surprise you? Let me know, and good luck this week!
