Fantasy: Week 22 positional rankings

Schuyler Redpath

Reid, Michael, and Blayne get together to review the most important fantasy takeaways from Round 21 and preview Round 22. They also take live questions throughout the show from from listeners.
Columbus are strong contenders for most surprising result of Week 21 in the first segment, but face competition from Montreal and Vancouver. The second half of the show focuses on player picks, especially defenders and forwards which seem particularly difficult this week as there are many 50-50 match-ups.

There’s no rest for the weary after the MLS All-Star break, as a full Week 22 is ahead of us with all 24 teams back in action over the weekend. With no double game week players to target for the second week in a row, let’s take a closer look at the top players at each position that could help your team make some moves up the rankings.

Goalkeepers

Fantasy: Week 22 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Guzan-argues.jpg

Brad Guzan. | USA Today Sports Images

Brad Guzan was roughed up by LAFC in Week 21, but he’s back at Mercedez-Benz Stadium where he’s kept a clean sheet in seven of his last nine home appearances. To top it all off he’s up against an LA Galaxy side that’s been shut out in each of their last two road outings and will be without star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic and young phenom Efrain Alvarez.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Brad Guzan	ATL	vs. LA	$6.3
2	Daniel Vega	SJ	vs. CLB	$5.8
3	Przemyslaw Tyton	CIN	vs. VAN	$4.7
4	Luis Robles	RBNY	vs. TOR	$6.1
5	Brian Rowe	ORL	vs. DAL	$6.4
6	Vito Mannone	MIN	vs. POR	$7.0
7	Bill Hamid	DC	vs. PHI	$6.6
8	Tyler Deric	HOU	vs. CHI	$4.7
9	Nick Rimando	RSL	vs. NYC	$7.5
10	Stefan Frei	SEA	vs. SKC	$6.7

Defenders

Congrats to Romain Metanire (#19), the Bell Bank Man of the Match in the @mnufc scoreless draw versus the Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday! Romain gave his #PayItForward donation to @bbbsgtc. #MNUFC #bellgiving
Audio courtesy of @Chris_Hawkey, @iHeartRadio and @KFAN1003! pic.twitter.com/MF9PGXOzUq
— Bell Bank (@gobellbanks) July 31, 2019

Romain Metanire continues to produce fantasy points, and despite the tough matchup against an in-form Portland Timbers side, he’s back at home this week where he’s averaging over 10 points per game across his last four at home.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Romain Metanire	MIN	vs. POR	$7.5
2	Leonardo Jara	DC	vs. PHI	$7.6
3	Miles Robinson	ATL	vs. LA	$7.2
4	Florian Jungwirth	SJ	vs. CLB	$7.0
5	Franco Escobar	ATL	vs. LA	$6.1
6	Michael Murillo	RBNY	vs. TOR	$6.1
7	Ronald Matarrita	NYC	at RSL	$6.1
8	Tommy Thompson	SJ	vs. CLB	$7.1
9	Aaron Herrera	RSL	vs. NYC	$7.1
10	Kim Kee-hee	SEA	vs. SKC	$6.6
11	Ike Opara	MIN	vs. POR	$8.7
12	Ali Adnan	VAN	at CIN	$5.4
13	Frederic Brillant	DC	vs. PHI	$7.0
14	Nick Lima	SJ	vs. CLB	$5.5
15	Michael Parkhurst	ATL	vs. LA	$4.8
16	Steve Birnbaum	DC	vs. PHI	$6.4
17	Kendall Waston	CIN	vs. VAN	$5.2
18	Lamine Sane	ORL	vs. DAL	$7.7
19	Anton Tinnerholm	NYC	at RSL	$7.6
20	Roman Torres	SEA	vs. SKC	$5.5

Midfielders

Fantasy: Week 22 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Nico,%20CLBvSEA.png

Nicolas Lodeiro. | USA Today Sports Images

Nicolas Lodeiro is in prime position for a bounce back after last week’s dud in Houston. Look for the Uruguayan national team attacker to cause problems for a Sporting Kansas City side that has shown some weaknesses at the back recently.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA	vs. SKC	$12.4
2	Carles Gil	NE	vs. LAFC	$12.3
3	Vako	SJ	vs. CLB	$8.7
4	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR	at RBNY	$11.7
5	Diego Valeri	POR	at MIN	$12.2
6	Cristian Espinoza	SJ	vs. CLB	$9.4
7	Nani	ORL	vs. DAL	$9.0
8	Julian Gressel	ATL	vs. LA	$9.1
9	Magnus Eriksson	SJ	vs. CLB	$9.7
10	Pity Martinez	ATL	vs. LA	$9.4
11	Daniel Royer	RBNY	vs. TOR	$9.2
12	Ignacio Piatti	MTL	at COL	$10.0
13	Eduard Atuesta	LAFC	at NE	$11.4
14	Marco Fabian	PHI	at DC	$8.9
15	Pedro Santos	CLB	at SJ	$8.6
16	Kaku	RBNY	vs. TOR	$8.4
17	Emmanuel Ledesma	CIN	vs. VAN	$8.4
18	Luciano Acosta	DC	vs. PHI	$8.4
19	Jan Gregus	MIN	vs. POR	$9.6
20	Johnny Russell	SKC	at SEA	$8.2
21	Sebastian Blanco	POR	at MIN	$10.7
22	Felipe Gutierrez	SKC	at SEA	$10.4
23	Saphir Taider	MTL	at COL	$9.7
24	Yordy Reyna	VAN	at CIN	$7.6
25	Albert Rusnak	RSL	vs. NYC	$9.7
26	Jonathan dos Santos	LA	at ATL	$9.5
27	Mark-Anthony Kaye	LAFC	at NE	$10.0
28	Cristian Penilla	NE	vs. LAFC	$8.9
29	Ezequiel Barco	ATL	vs. LA	$9.0
30	Lassi Lappalainen	MTL	at COL	$7.5

Forwards

.@11carlosV. Left foot. It's just automatic.

< #MLSAllStar Skills Challenge pres. by @Target > pic.twitter.com/KZvOSWcLS3
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 31, 2019

Going on the road to face a New England Revolution side that is unbeaten in 11 straight would typically be a spot to avoid for fantasy purposes, but Carlos Vela is simply on another level this season and it would be no surprise to see him add to his 22-goal, 13-assist haul this week.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC	at NE	$13.0
2	Josef Martinez	ATL	vs. LA	$12.9
3	Wayne Rooney	DC	vs. PHI	$10.8
4	Gustavo Bou	NE	vs. LAFC	$10.3
5	Brian Fernandez	POR	at MIN	$11.1
6	Darwin Quintero	MIN	vs. POR	$9.5
7	Alberth Elis	HOU	vs. CHI	$10.2
8	Mauro Manotas	HOU	vs. CHI	$8.8
9	Heber	NYC	at RSL	$9.9
10	Jozy Altidore	TOR	at RBNY	$10.6
11	Diego Rossi	LAFC	at NE	$10.4
12	Jordan Morris	SEA	vs. SKC	$8.9
13	Adama Diomande	LAFC	at NE	$9.5
14	Alexandru Mitrita	NYC	at RSL	$8.1
15	Chris Wondolowski	SJ	vs. CLB	$7.4
16	Kei Kamara	COL	vs. MTL	$7.4
17	Brian White	RBNY	vs. TOR	$7.7
18	Fredy Montero	VAN	at CIN	$7.5
19	Gyasi Zardes	CLB	at SJ	$8.7
20	Diego Rubio	COL	vs. MTL	$8.3