Fantasy Soccer Advice

MLS Fantasy Week 22 positional rankings and gaming advice

Gauld Fantasy 2

MLS Fantasy is back! With just eight rounds to go, now is the time to make some big moves up the leaderboards. There are 11 games on Sunday to build a team around, so let’s jump right back in and touch on the top players and values at each position.

Goalkeepers

Stefan Frei will look to add to his league-leading 11 clean sheets on the season at home against Atlanta United on Sunday. Atlanta have scored just two goals over their last four away matches in MLS play.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Stefan Frei
SEA
vs. ATL
$9.2
2. Roman Bürki
STL

vs. ATX

$10.2
3. Yohei Takaoka
VAN

vs. SJ

$6.3
4. Steve Clark
HOU
vs. POR
$7.9
5. Jonathan Bond
LA
vs. RSL
$6.6
Value Goalkeepers
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Carlos Coronel
RBNY
vs. DC
$6.1
2. Spencer Richey
CHI
vs. ORL
$4.8
3. Tomas Romero
TOR
vs. MTL
$5.1

Defenders

Julian Gressel is one of several players adapting to life with a new club. With the departure of Lucas Zelarayán, Gressel should see plenty of opportunities to contribute on the attacking end. Regardless of whether Columbus keep a clean sheet at home against Cincinnati, look for Gressel to be active on set pieces and in open play to potentially pile up both defensive and attacking points.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Julian Gressel
CLB
vs. CIN
$9.9
2. Yeimar
SEA
vs. ATL
$12.1
3. John Tolkin
RBNY
vs. DC
$9.1
4. Álvaro Barreal
CIN
at CLB
$10.9
5. Diego Palacios
LAFC
vs. COL
$9.0
6. Richie Laryea
VAN
vs. SJ
$10.2
7. Tim Parker
STL
vs. ATX
$9.7
8. Ryan Hollingshead
LAFC
vs. COL
$7.3
9. Brooks Lennon
ATL
at SEA
$11.4
10. Alex Roldan
SEA
vs. ATL
$8.3


Value Defenders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Caleb Wiley
ATL
at SEA
$5.6
2. Andrés Reyes
RBNY
vs. DC
$5.5
3. Adam Lundkvist
ATX
at STL
$4.0

Midfielders

Ryan Gauld racked up a massive 24-point haul in Round 21, and he’s averaged over 14 fantasy points per round across the last four rounds. With Julian Gressel out of the equation, Gauld should gobble up the majority of set pieces for Vancouver. Look for him to continue fueling the attack in a favorable home match with San Jose.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Ryan Gauld
VAN
vs. SJ
$11.7
2. Héctor Herrera
HOU
vs. POR
$11.1
3. Emanuel Reynoso
MIN
at NYC
$9.6
4. Thiago Almada
ATL
at SEA
$13.6
5. Eduard Löwen
STL
vs. ATX
$11.1
6. Luciano Acosta
CIN
at CLB
$13.9
7. Lorenzo Insigne
TOR
vs. MTL
$10.4
8. Sebastían Driussi
ATX
at STL
$9.4
9. Nicolás Lodeiro
SEA
vs. ATL
$9.2
10. Cristian Espinoza
SJ
at VAN
$12.4
11. Riqui Puig
LA
vs. RSL
$10.1
12. Diego Rossi
CLB
vs. CIN
$9.5

13. Santiago Rodríguez

NYC
vs. MIN
$9.9
14. Evander
POR
at HOU
$9.7
15. Frankie Amaya
RBNY
vs. DC
$8.6
16. Xherdan Shaqiri
CHI
vs. ORL
$8.4
17. Jonathan Osorio 
TOR
vs. MTL
$10.1
18. Cristian Roldan
SEA
vs. ATL
$8.3
19. Jamiro Monteiro
SJ
at VAN
$7.7
20. Facundo Torres
ORL
at CHI

$10.1

Value midfielders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Aziel Jackson
STL
vs. ATX
$5.2
2. Ryan Raposo
VAN
vs. SJ
$4.4
3. Ethan Finlay
ATX

at STL

$5.8

Forwards

Dénis Bouanga will look to pick right up where he left off in Leagues Cup, bagging six goals in 256 minutes. He sits just one goal back of Hany Mukhtar in the Golden Boot presented by Audi standings, and a home matchup with Colorado presents a prime opportunity for Bouanga to add to his haul.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Dénis Bouanga
LAFC
vs. COL
$10.8
2. Cucho Hernández
CLB
vs. CIN
$11.5
3. Carlos Vela
LAFC
vs. COL
$9.3
4. Cristian Arango
RSL
at LA
$9.0
5. Teemu Pukki
MIN
at NYC
$9.3
6. Jefferson Savarino
RSL
at LA
$10.1
7. Giorgos Giakoumakis
ATL
at SEA
$8.2
8. Aaron Boupendza
CIN
at CLB
$9.5
9. Brian White
VAN
vs. SJ
$8.6
10. Diego Rubio
COL
at LAFC
$9.1


Value forwards
1. Dante Vanzeir
RBNY
vs. DC
$5.3
2. Stipe Biuk
LAFC
vs. COL
$4.9
3. Talles Magno
NYC
vs. MIN
$4.8
Captain
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Ryan Gauld
VAN
vs. SJ
$11.7
2. Dénis Bouanga
LAFC
vs. COL
$10.8
3. Cucho Hernández
CLB
vs. CIN
$11.5

MLS Squad Pick

Playing MLS Squad Pick is quick and easy. Pick 5 players for your squad. If they all score in the same matchday, you could win a $160 MLSstore.com gift card!

Don’t forget, each round you play gives you one (1) entry into the end-of-season Grand Prize drawing for $10,000!

Expert advice

I’m locking in on the top goal threats from home teams with good matchups. Dénis Bouanga was a man on fire in Leagues Cup and should continue to see chances come his way against Colorado. Dante Vanzeir could have Lewis Morgan back serving him up, and at home against D.C. I’m expecting Red Bulls to find a way to feed their target man. Cucho Hernández will look to impact the scoresheet in the Hell is Real derby, while Jordan Morris and Brian White both have the ability to tickle the twine in their respective matchups.

Check out my squad for Round 27:

round 27 squad pick

MLS Parlay Predictor

Playing MLS Parlay Predictor is simple. Pick the results of all 6 games correctly in a single matchday, and you could win a 2023 MLS Season Pass full-season subscription on Apple TV!

Each round you predict gives you one (1) entry into the end-of-season Grand Prize drawing for $10,000!

Expert advice:

  • The Crew are unbeaten in their last 10 home matches in all competitions (W7-L0-D3).
  • The Fire have won five of their last six regular season matches, including the last three in a row.
  • St. Louis City SC have won eight of their 12 home matches this year, while Austin FC have won four of their last six regular season matches.
  • Atlanta United have won three of their last 29 road matches in all competitions.
  • Real Salt Lake are unbeaten in nine straight regular season matches (W6-D3-L0).

Check out my predictions for Round 27:

Round 27 Parlay Predictions