Reid, Mike and Jason are joined by Tim from Soccer Captains to review the record breaking events from Round 28 and preview the potential of Round 29. There is some great discussion about the potential fantasy options form each team, and a little extra preview from a galaxy far far away.
With Round 28 over, MLS Fantasy managers who didn’t have or captain Josef Martinez were left seeing red arrows on their rankings. Martinez set a Fantasy record for a single double-game week with 37 points!
We have another DGW in Round 29 featuring Atlanta United, the LA Galaxy, Montreal Impact and Toronto FC. Atlanta have two home games, LA and Montreal have two away games, and Toronto have one home and one away game.
With some teams mulling whether to rest big-name players for the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs and Atlanta playing four games in 12 days, will you rely on the stars, or will you go with the other DGW players?
Below is a list of players from the DGW teams that I think have the potential to go the full 180 minutes.
Goalkeeper
Since Atlanta have two home games (LA and MTL), I believe the Five Stripes have a shot at keeping at least one clean sheet this week. Brad Guzan ($6.2) is in the premium price range, but it’s very unlikely he sits one out.
Defenders
While we’re on the subject of Atlanta, they also have the easiest schedule out of the four DGW teams. This means that either Leandro Gonzalez Pirez ($6.8) or Michael Parkhurst ($5.8) should anchor your backline, especially since Gonzalez Pirez has already served his yellow-card suspension.
I also think Toronto’s Justin Morrow ($7.3) has what it takes this week. He’s the fourth-highest-scoring defender and has played 180 minutes in two of Toronto’s previous DGWs.
Midfielders
Canadian teams offer some of the best midfield options this week, but be careful with Montreal’s playmaking duo.
Both Blerim Dzemaili ($9.4) and Ignacio Piatti ($11.6) are capable of going 180, but they have also come out in the 70th-minute range at times this year. Still, I like the second leg of their DGW matchup, when the Impact play against an Atlanta team who will be on their fourth match in 12 days.
As for Toronto’s maestro in the midfield, Victor Vazquez ($9.9) leads the league with 15 assists and has posted a Fantasy scoreline of 16 and 14 in his last two matches. When it comes to playing 180 minutes, his history is shaky, but he has gone the distance once before. TFC have a great shot at scoring numerous goals this DGW, and Vazquez will be a heavy contributor in attempting to do that.
Forwards
The obvious choice this week is Josef Martinez ($10.0) from Atlanta United. His back-to-back hat tricks say it all, but let’s all be honest with ourselves: Rotation will have to play into Atlanta’s plans at some point.
I’m not counting on a full 180 from Martinez, but head coach Tata Martino could hold off one more week and wait for that home-and-away split for rest. Finally, I have to mention Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco ($13.4) and Jozy Altidore ($10.5), who both did not travel with the team last week. Altidore is officially out against Montreal, while Giovinco is looking unlikely as well.
Differentials
To round everything out, here are four more players who I think have a good chance at logging 180 minutes and have low ownership.
- GK – Alex Bono ($5.9) – TOR
- DEF – Drew Moor ($6.9) –TOR
- MID – Jonathan Dos Santos ($9.1) – LA
- FWD – Giovani Dos Santos ($10.0) – LA
Which players do you think have the best shot at going 180 minutes this week? Do you have any differential players that will be in your lineups? Post your thoughts in the comments below!
FOR MORE fantasy advice, be sure to check out the articles and charts posted at MLSFantasyBoss.com.
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