Fantasy: Week 8 positional rankings ahead of a full weekend of matches

Schuyler Redpath

Reid and Mike are joined by Tim who is back from his recent trip to Aruba and ready to review the first DGW of the season and all the fantasy winners from Round 7. After Mike treats everyone to a welcomed short injury list the guys answer a couple of Reddit questions and discuss the best way to deal with the rising costs of defenders and keepers. They wrap everything up with with a game-by-game review of the upcoming Round 8 and reveal which teams are worth picking up 4 players from. Oh and Tim gets a little slap happy with his 3-0 predictions.

Week 8 features several exploitable matches worth targeting for MLS Fantasy purposes. Let’s take a closer look at which ones to focus on in the Week 8 positional rankings.

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Goalkeepers

Both of my top two goalkeepers this week are facing weakened attacks, with Vancouver losing Kei Kamara to injury and Toronto likely to give several of their big name players a breather ahead of the second leg of the CCL final at Chivas de Guadalajara next Wednesday. Considering Tim Melia plays in the first game of the week on Friday night, we can put him on our bench as part of a “keeperoo” and if we’re not happy with his score, plug in Chris Seitz for two shots at a clean sheet.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Tim Melia	SKC	vs. VAN	$5.8
2	Chris Seitz	HOU	vs. TOR	$5.6
3	Luis Robles	RBNY	vs. CHI	$7.0
4	Jimmy Maurer	DAL	vs. PHI	$6.5
5	Stefan Frei	SEA	vs. MIN	$6.2
6	Zack Steffen	CLB	vs. NE	$6.2
7	Nick Rimando	RSL	vs. ATL	$7.5
8	Joe Bendik	ORL	vs. SJ	$5.3
9	David Bingham	LA	vs. ATL	$6.4
10	Evan Bush	MTL	vs. LAFC	$6.9

Defenders

Fantasy: Week 8 positional rankings ahead of a full weekend of matches - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Zusiwarmups.jpg?

Kansas City's Graham Zusi could easily be a difference maker on both ends of the field this week. | USA Today Sports Images

Graham Zusi bagged his second goal of the season in Week 7 and he should have multiple opportunities to collect both attacking and defensive fantasy points versus Vancouver on Friday (9 pm ET; TSN — Full TV & streaming info).

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Graham Zusi	SKC	vs. VAN	$8.5
2	Victor Cabrera	MTL	vs. LAFC	$7.7
3	Ike Opara	SKC	vs. VAN	$6.6
4	Milton Valenzeula	CLB	vs. NE	$7.0
5	Anton Nedyalkov	DAL	vs. PHI	$7.5
6	Matt Besler	SKC	vs. VAN	$6.7
7	Tim Parker	RBNY	vs. CHI	$6.6
8	Chad Marshall	SEA	vs. MIN	$5.6
9	Matt Hedges	DAL	vs. PHI	$7.0
10	Jonathan Mensah	CLB	vs. NE	$7.9
11	Justen Glad	RSL	vs. COL	$6.8
12	Nouhou Tolo	SEA	vs. MIN	$4.3
13	Reto Ziegler	DAL	vs. PHI	$7.3
14	Michael Murillo	RBNY	vs. CHI	$5.5
15	Adolfo Machado	HOU	vs. TOR	$6.1
16	Lamine Sane	ORL	vs. SJ	$4.8
17	Aaron Long	RBNY	vs. CHI	$6.1
18	Rolf Feltscher	LA	vs. ATL	$6.7
19	Harrison Afful	CLB	vs. NE	$6.3
20	Reggie Cannon	DAL	vs. PHI	$7.1

Midfielders

Despite notching just one assist through the first three games of the season, Nicolas Lodeiro is averaging over nine fantasy points per game. He gets it done through a combination of peripheral bonus points, and if he can get more involved on the scoresheet at home against Minnesota United on Sunday (4 pm ET; ESPN, TSN — Full TV & streaming info), Lodeiro boasts the potential to put up big fantasy points in Week 8.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA	vs. MIN	$12.2
2	Romain Alessandrini	LA	vs. ATL	$10.2
3	Miguel Almiron	ATL	at LA	$12.3
4	Ignacio Piatti	MTL	vs. LAFC	$11.2
5	Diego Valeri	POR	vs. NYC	$9.5
6	Mauro Diaz	DAL	vs. PHI	$10.2
7	Albert Rusnak	RSL	vs. COL	$9.4
8	Sacha Kljestan	ORL	vs. SJ	$10.8
9	Johnny Russell	SKC	vs. VAN	$8.8
10	Federico Higuain	CLB	vs. NE	$10.3
11	Alejandro Romero Gamarra	RBNY	vs. CHI	$9.0
12	Tomas Martinez	HOU	vs. TOR	$8.3
13	Maxi Moralez	NYC	at POR	$11.8
14	Pedro Santos	CLB	vs. NE	$7.8
15	Yoshi Yotun	ORL	vs. SJ	$8.9
16	Joao Plata	RSL	vs. COL	$10.4
17	Jeisson Vargas	MTL	vs. LAFC	$8.0
18	Daniel Salloi	SKC	vs. VAN	$7.0
19	Daniel Royer	RBNY	vs. CHI	$7.5
20	Sebastian Blanco	POR	vs. NYC	$9.6
21	Roland Lamah	DAL	vs. PHI	$9.5
22	Diego Fagundez	NE	at CLB	$9.4
23	Jesus Medina	NYC	at POR	$8.9
24	Magnus Eriksson	SJ	at ORL	$9.9
25	Michael Barrios	DAL	vs. PHI	$7.4
26	Dax McCarty	CHI	at RBNY	$8.6
27	Chris Mueller	ORL	vs. SJ	$4.5
28	Saphir Taider	MTL	vs. LAFC	$8.1
29	Florian Valot	RBNY	vs. CHI	$6.0
30	Jacori Hayes	DAL	vs. PHI	$6.8

Forwards

Fantasy: Week 8 positional rankings ahead of a full weekend of matches - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/bwp_3.jpg

Along with Ibrahimovic, Bradley Wright-Phillips is also a smart play with his New York Red Bulls hosting the struggling Chicago Fire. | USA Today Images

Zlatan Ibrahimovic earned his first start and scored a goal at Chicago in Week 7, setting the stage for his first start at home in a high profile matchup versus Atlanta United on Saturday (10:30 pm ET; TV & streaming info). The opportunities will be there for Ibrahimovic to give both LA Galaxy fans and fantasy managers something to smile about, and given his penchant for scoring goals, another multi-goal game could be in order.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA	vs. ATL	$10.0
2	Bradley Wright-Phillips	RBNY	vs. CHI	$9.9
3	Carlos Vela	LAFC	at MTL	$12.0
4	David Villa	NYC	at POR	$11.1
5	Alberth Elis	HOU	vs. TOR	$11.5
6	Josef Martinez	ATL	at LA	$11.5
7	Clint Dempsey	SEA	vs. MIN	$9.0
8	Dom Dwyer	ORL	vs. SJ	$10.5
9	Maxi Urruti	DAL	vs. PHI	$7.7
10	Gyasi Zardes	CLB	vs. NE	$8.3
11	Diego Rossi	LAFC	at MTL	$11.7
12	Nemanja Nikolic	CHI	at RBNY	$10.4
13	Ola Kamara	LA	vs. ATL	$7.8
14	Darwin Quintero	MIN	at SEA	$9.5
15	Jefferson Savarino	RSL	vs. COL	$8.0
16	Mauro Manotas	HOU	vs. TOR	$9.0
17	Will Bruin	SEA	vs. MIN	$7.3
18	Fanendo Adi	POR	vs. NYC	$7.4
19	Cristian Penilla	NE	at CLB	$9.3
20	Cristian Colman	DAL	vs. PHI	$5.5