Fantasy: Week 19 positional rankings

Schuyler Redpath

Week 19 of MLS Fantasy features all 24 teams in action, and while we get a break from the double-game week madness, there are still plenty of outliers to be mindful of when picking your squad this week.

Multiple players are filtering back in since returning from international duty, and with the U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship knockout rounds in full swing, there is sure to be some roster rotation over the busy MLS weekend. With that in mind, let’s key in on the top players at each position this week to help your team gain some ground on the fantasy leaderboards.

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Goalkeepers

Fantasy: Week 19 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Clark_0.jpg?ad0MfxoxrI39wb14lON.wzfUW83I03wF

Steve Clark has three shutouts in seven appearances this season | USA Today Sports Image

Steve Clark has kept a clean sheet in each of his last three outings, and he’s in a good spot to make it four straight shutouts in a favorable home matchup against Colorado Saturday (11 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, on DAZN in Canada).

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Steve Clark	POR	vs. COL	$6.0
2	Brian Rowe	ORL	vs. CLB	$5.8
3	Kenneth Kronholm	CHI	vs. CIN	$4.9
4	Bill Hamid	DC	vs. NE	$6.5
5	Nick Rimando	RSL	vs. PHI	$6.2
6	David Bingham	LA	vs. SJ	$6.9
7	Vito Mannone	MIN	vs. DAL	$5.5
8	Luis Robles	RBNY	vs. NYC	$5.6
9	Evan Bush	MTL	vs. TOR	$5.0
10	Stefan Frei	SEA	vs. ATL	$6.8

Defenders

Fantasy: Week 19 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/jones-tight.jpg

Joevin Jones has started two of the Sounders last three games.| USA Today

As the Fantasy United FC gang pointed out Tuesday, the defender position is a bit of a crapshoot this week. With no clear cut options, I’m looking at Seattle’s Joevin Jones to provide an attacking punch in my lineup this week. Since rejoining Seattle in May, Jones has shown flashes of his attacking prowess that saw him post 11 assists in 2017. While it’s yet to be seen how the return of international players will impact Jones, he could bring big attacking upside to the table in a home game against Atlanta Sunday (3:55 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes in US; TSN1 in Canada) that could have some fireworks.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Joevin Jones	SEA	vs. ATL	$6.8
2	Francisco Calvo	CHI	vs. CIN	$6.5
3	Larrys Mabiala	POR	vs. COL	$8.5
4	Jorge Moreira	POR	vs. COL	$6.5
5	Ike Opara	MIN	vs. DAL	$7.5
6	Ronald Mataritta	NYC	at RBNY	$6.0
7	Steve Birnbaum	DC	vs. NE	$7.1
8	Frederic Brillant	DC	vs. NE	$7.0
9	Zakaria Diallo	MTL	vs. TOR	$7.0
10	Ali Adnan	VAN	vs. SKC	$5.7
11	Daniel Steres	LA	vs. SJ	$6.4
12	Graham Zusi	SKC	at VAN	$7.3
13	Kelvin Leerdam	SEA	vs. ATL	$6.3
14	Kemar Lawrence	RBNY	vs. NYC	$6.3
15	Leonardo Jara	DC	vs. NE	$6.3
16	Hassani Dotson	MIN	vs. DAL	$5.1
17	Ryan Hollingshead	DAL	at MIN	$7.0
18	Aaron Herrera	RSL	vs. PHI	$6.1
19	Lamine Sane	ORL	vs. CLB	$6.4
20	Aaron Long	RBNY	vs. NYC	$7.0

Midfielders

Fantasy: Week 19 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/nico%20gaitan.jpg

Nico Gaitan has three goals and eight assists this season| USA Today

Despite being kept in check in his last outing, Nico Gaitan is hot off a monster 26-point Week 18 thanks to a three-assist, one-goal outburst against Atlanta in his last home game. He should see multiple opportunities to make his mark on the scoresheet in a juicy home matchup Saturday (8 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, on DAZN in Canada) with an FC Cincinnati side that has shipped a combined 20 goals over their last four road games.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Nicolas Gaitan	CHI	vs. CIN	$9.6
2	Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA	vs. ATL	$11.5
3	Diego Valeri	POR	vs. COL	$11.6
4	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR	at MTL	$10.5
5	Aleksandar Katai	CHI	vs. CIN	$9.0
6	Jonathan dos Santos	LA	vs. SJ	$10.0
7	Nani	ORL	vs. CLB	$9.5
8	Maxi Moralez	NYC	at RBNY	$12.0
9	Saphir Taider	MTL	vs. TOR	$10.0
10	Sebastian Blanco	POR	vs. COL	$11.0
11	Carles Gil	NE	at DC	$10.9
12	Johnny Russell	SKC	at VAN	$9.0
13	Kaku	NYRB	vs. NYC	$8.8
14	Felipe Gutierrez	SKC	at VAN	$9.8
15	Albert Rusnak	RSL	vs. PHI	$9.6
16	Daniel Royer	RBNY	vs. NYC	$9.0
17	Marco Fabian	PHI	at RSL	$9.0
18	Pity Martinez	ATL	at SEA	$9.5
19	Yordy Reyna	VAN	vs. SKC	$8.6
20	Cristian Espinoza	SJ	at LA	$9.3
21	Mark-Anthony Kaye	LAFC	at HOU	$10.5
22	Pedro Santos	CLB	at ORL	$8.0
23	Paxton Pomykal	DAL	at MIN	$9.1
24	Magnus Eriksson	SJ	at LA	$8.2
25	Latif Blessing	LAFC	at HOU	$9.5
26	Dax McCarty	CHI	vs. CIN	$7.8
27	Vako	SJ	at LA	$7.2
28	Chris Mueller	ORL	vs. CLB	$6.9
29	Przemyslaw Frankowski	CHI	vs. CIN	$6.6
30	Fabian Herbers	CHI	vs. CIN	$4.8

Forwards

Fantasy: Week 19 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Zlatanceleb2921.jpg

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has three braces this season| USA Today

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was back at it again with a brace and 12 points in Week 18, and he’ll look to exact revenge at home Friday (11 pm ET | UniMás, UDN, Twitter in US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)against a San Jose Earthquakes unit that shut him out in the most recent version of the Cali Clasico just two games ago. Ibrahimovic has done most of his damage at home this season with 10 of his 13 goals coming at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA	vs. SJ	$10.3
2	Carlos Vela	LAFC	vs. HOU	$12.0
3	Brian Fernandez	POR	vs. COL	$10.9
4	Wayne Rooney	DC	vs. NE	$11.1
5	Darwin Quintero	MIN	vs. DAL	$10.7
6	CJ Sapong	CHI	vs. CIN	$7.3
7	Nemanja Nikolic	CHI	vs. CIN	$7.8
8	Raul Ruidiaz	SEA	vs. ATL	$10.5
9	Josef Martinez	ATL	at SEA	$11.5
10	Alberth Elis	HOU	vs. LAFC	$10.9
11	Jozy Altidore	TOR	at MTL	$10.0
12	Diego Rossi	LAFC	at HOU	$10.5
13	Dom Dwyer	ORL	vs. CLB	$8.0
14	Mauro Manotas	HOU	vs. LAFC	$8.8
15	Kacper Przybylko	PHI	at RSL	$8.0
16	Tesho Akindele	ORL	vs. CLB	$6.6
17	Heber	NYC	at RBNY	$9.0
18	Brian White	RBNY	vs. NYC	$6.7
19	Valentin Castellanos	NYC	at RBNY	$8.0
20	Bradley Wright-Phillips	RBNY	vs. NYC	$8.5