MLS GW19 Tips Fantasy Major League Soccer
Welcome to MLS GW19 Tips Fantasy Major League Soccer. Well, the MLS is kicking off on Tuesday this week – because why not? It’s the 4th of July, a notorious holiday for travelling, but let’s play some soccer that’s bound to have severe rotation issues anyway. Not only are players getting called up left and right for internationals still, but several teams will be coming into this round with just a few days rest. So yeah…
I also have plans for the holiday, and writing out my typical ‘longer than it needs to be’ article isn’t on my list of things to do. So here’s what I can do for you all: we can list the game lines, give a few snippets of information that might be situationally relevant, and then I’ll give my captain picks. Other than that? There’s just no time.
THIS WEEKS DEADLINE IS 00:00AM UK TIME on WEDNESDAY (That’s Tuesday night, ish)
TO JOIN THE FF247 LEAGUE JUST CLICK HERE OR THE CODE ITSELF IS 1543-573
This week’s line breakdowns:
Tuesday
Atlanta (-175) v San Jose (+475), o/u 2.5 goals (-140 over, +115 under)
Minnesota (+165) v Columbus (+150), o/u 3 goals (-115 over, -105 under)
FC Dallas (-250) v DC United (+750), o/u 3 goals (+115 over, -140 under)
Colorado (+160) v Seattle (+170), o/u 2.5 goals (EVEN over, -125 under)
LA (-125) v RSL (+325), o/u 3 goals (EVEN over, -125 under)
Of these first five games of the round, we’ll get to see the Atlanta v San Jose and Minnesota v Columbus lineups prior to the game locking. And truthfully, maybe that’s enough. In this crazy round, going in heavy on four teams with lines tilting heavily towards the ‘over’ could be all of the edge that you’ll need. Whether you decide to pick sparsely from those first two games or not, you have to know that any game that follows them will be subject to odd lineups.
Atlanta have won their last four straight at home, and against San Jose, you have to think that line there is good. Columbus have lost their last four straight on the road…and they’ve only scored three total goals over that run – but all ills can be cured by playing a Minnesota defence that loves to concede. Grabbing any of those offences could pay off for you. Dallas are the biggest favourites on the board this week, so you’ll need to take a stab at projecting their lineup and include them in your squad. DC have just been awful this year, and they’ve been shutout in each of their last four home games. So whether you build your Dallas picks from the back or the front, you’ve got a good chance at serious points.
Wednesday
New England (+105) v NYRB (+255), o/u 2.5 goals (-130 over, +105 under)
Orlando (+155) v Toronto (+165), o/u 2.5 goals (-130 over, +105 under)
Houston (-135) v Montreal (+355), o/u 3 goals (+110 over, -135 under)
Vancouver (+135) v NYC (+190), o/u 3 goals (+110 over, -140 under)
Portland (+115) v Chicago (+230), o/u 2.5 goals (-140 over, +115 under)
New England are now on a three-game skid that’s only see them score a single goal over that span. If NYRB ever had a decent chance at an upset, this is probably the spot to take a gamble on that happening. Orlando just beat RSL…so that counts for nothing. Their line with Toronto is so close because Toronto have now dropped two straight road games. Houston are still great at home (not Chicago-level great, but still pretty good), so you can never overlook them. Houston’s goal differential at home sits at +17, so you absolutely have to take them into account this round. Note that Torres may be called up to the Mexico team ahead of this fixture, so he’s best left aside unless something definitive is announced.
Don’t overlook NYC on the road: two of their last three road games resulted in clean sheet wins. Vancouver are pretty much a mishmash of talent that occasionally produces results…so make your default option NYC in this case. As for Portland at home, it’s going to be tough against the best team in the league. As long as Nikolic plays, Portland are in trouble. Feel free to take the offensive options from each side that you know will play, but leave off the defences for this match.
Thursday
SKC (-170) v Philadelphia (+500), o/u 2.5 goals (-115 over, -105 under)
Of course the MLS would schedule a game for Thursday. It’s actually written into the by-laws of the league that no single round can ever end in less than 48 hours. I assume they think that extending the schedules like this gives them ‘exposure’. If they really wanted to boost the league’s image and presence, they would’ve given Pathetico Morbid his prize for beating all us Yanks at our own game…
Side note: thanks to all those that changed their name for the last round in the game to Pathetico Morbid #1. I’m actually going to leave my team name as such – because I’m just that way.
As for SKC, they deserve a decent rating for this game. They’ve still yet to lose at home, and they’ve only conceded 4 goals in nine home matches this year. But Philly have to feel a bit miffed at their price coming off of a 3-0 win over the weekend. But Philly do just have the one road win this year to their credit…and that was against DC. So yeah, maybe this pricing really is fair.
American Betting Lines Explained:
Here’s a summary of terms and betting lingo as presented above, just so you can follow along if you are still unfamiliar with it.
The American betting lines work best when you think of things with a $100 base wager on underdogs, and a $100 return on favourites. For example, if you see a team is priced +180, that means that if you bet $100, you will win $180 profit. Conversely, if you see a team is priced at -180, that means that you would have to bet $180 to win $100 profit. Teams that are priced at anything more than +200 or -200 are considered to be big underdogs or favourites, respectively.
Also, keep in mind that when you see both sides of a bet priced right around -110, that means that the house has no favourite, and they’re just looking to make money on both sides. Hopefully this helps you navigate finding the best value on the board for your fantasy team. After all, if the bookies price a team at +350, they’re not going to be thrilled at having to pay out $350 for every $100 bet, so you can typically safely assume that any team priced that way will be a bust.
Captain Picks
#1) Max Urruti – If the biggest favourites on the board are going up against one of the worst teams the league has to offer, I’ll take my chances on their striker. Lamah might be the hot hand at the moment, but Urruti is definitely the more steady pick for a good return.
#2) Mauro Manotas – If the Big 3 for Houston are out, it’s going to be up to Manotas to provide the scoring. And the thing is, he’s been doing some serious scoring all along, he just doesn’t get the press like the other three. Manotas should at least be in your squad this week if you’re looking to set yourself apart a bit.
#3) Nemanja Nikolic – Until he stops scoring, he needs to be considered every week for the armband. Many people mocked my decision to give him the armband last week over Villa, but who’s laughing now?
Post your teams below and we will be sure to help out as much as possible.
Don’t forget to stop by mlsfantasyboss.com to catch up on their great weekly articles that lead into the deadline.
Thanks for reading: MLS Tips Fantasy Major League Soccer GW19. This article was written by Guy Sanchez
Oh dear GP, your recent form is rubbing off on those who you support now too!
Judging by the result I think GP may have been playing for Rangers tonight 😉
I hate to be right here, but Rangers really need to boot their new manager asap. He’s awful.
[…] Fantasy Football 247 – Guy Sanchez’s Musings […]
MLSFI quick picks for GW19…
Atlanta and Columbus teams…
Cheers init! So, no Higuain! Hummm
These guys are strong on Diaz! I wonder what do they know that I don’t?
Probably not a lot
I’ve picked him but have a viable sub too just in case.
Yeah me too, in place of Lamah. My viable sub is LA’s Smith though..
This is what I ended up with. Did it and saved it and on the correct log ins too #bonus
We have the exact same attack and capo… are you sure this isn’t my login!!??
Defense is a bit different though so maybe not then! Best of luck init and everyone.
Here they are!
Double Gonzo eh
Ehehe didn’t notice that!! Meanwhile, Diaz starts!
Are Everton really going to give Rooney €250k per week?
Unnecessarily so it would appear.
I think they have done some good business without the need for him but the manager knows best. If they get Giroud that would be a fantastic summer.
I’m sure Koeman knows better than me but I’m baffled by this. He’s been in decline for the last 2-3 seasons.
I suppose it’s not unlike Liverpool bringing Fowler back to the club but Fowler was worshipped by Liverpool fans whereas Rooney only played two seasons for Everton.
Completely agree, he’s long past his best.
There may be a retirement/coaching transition angle to this move though. But for those wages, if true, I think they could be spent far better.
Kop / GP £250k is ridiculous some of money to pay Rooney at this stage in his career , I thk Eve have done very good business I particularly like Keane and Klaassen if they manage to get Van Dijk a LB & another fwd they could push for a top 4 spot or not 😉
Everton for van Dijk? Now that would take the biscuit
I actually think Bertrand would be a good fit at Everton for the LB slot.
Word is there might be a draft on fpl this season.
Also FPL site down right now
Hmm Im not sure what to make of it.
Copying American fantasy sport games?
It doesn’t matter who they copy if they add something to the game for those that want it. Some will ignore the draft completely others will like it and want to play. I am all for them doing it as long as we get to play our traditional game for free.
Yeah it will be interesting to see how it works.
Certainly got me intrigued anyway, I play the NFL fantasy draft game which I really like.
Its pretty much confirmed.
https://twitter.com/jfh89/status/882577373505441794
Yeah we have an NFL league with several of us from here, been doing it for several years , plus I play in some nfl cash leagues, really love that.
Yeah I have been playing NFL fantasy for a few years now, Haven’t entered any cash leagues yet tho. Wonder how waiver wire will work with this FPL draft. That’s the key part of a draft game for me and if they don’t get it right won’t be good.
how does a draft work?
A Standard draft follows a “snake” drafting order. This means that once each team makes a pick, the draft order is reversed in the next round. Each team drafts a player when they are on the clock.
So in FPL draft there will be 15 rounds.Each player in a league has to pick one player in each round.
Cheers Roo. Think I’ll stick to the original!
I’ve found from previous experience that the draft itself is the best bit and after that it just gets boring.
Yeah I found that to be the case to Kop.
If FPL Draft is free i’ll give it a go tho.
I’ll probably give a go myself just to see what it’s like
Kop did you do that one with the rest of the writing team a few seasons back? Either way it was exactly that, the draft itself was a great laugh as we had a convo on WhatsApp going at the same time. After that though it becomes boring and at least half lost interest by October. Not sure if anyone survived beyond Christmas. There’s only so many players who are actually viable so replacing an injury becomes tedious. I’ll wait to see the format itself but I’m hardly excited by it.
Yeah that was it Init. At the risk of sounding negative I can’t see how this will be any different.
If they did with a 5 a side format or say 10-12 games seasons, I be more interested. It be great if they gave us options on when to start and how to set up the game ourselves. Then I think it be interesting.
I like the 5-a-side idea. That’s pretty much how I’m playing the Tour de France now
How did that go today btw?! 😉
Tour de France update.
It was a sad day in the Tour as a pair of know nothings are now in 1st and 3rd.
Init jumps into first place with the help of his 3 leeches (riders) from Sky, living off Froome’s first place to get assist points. #Geez
Kop stays in second place, but is now closer than ever to first.
Cookie jumps into third and will feel like a Mito playing a fantasy cricket…”How did I get here and how can I win”
Bry and his rainbow warrriors move up a spot and take 4th.
Mito, everyone’s hero drops to 5th after leading the game for 4 days. With his top rider disqualified in a decision that can only be seen as corrupt and in favour of the English boys at the top of this fantasy game. #Scandal
D’Alessandro stays in sixth and will now be hoping Froome also gets DQed for doing nothing if he wants to challenge for the top spots.
James from Antarctica is #1 in Antarctica, but 7th in our 8 person league. #WellDone
As always our permanent basement dweller Lawdogg, is…well, in the basement.
Woohooooo!
I actually watched it, rather illegally, on my way home from work!
Not sure the assists came into play quite as much as you exaggerate there, it’s a pittance like 2 points each for supporting a 3rd spot. More the genius of having 1st, 3rd and 5th today I think
Still happy that the assist jibe from day zero came back to bite though 😉
#Sagan
Lost them points from yesterday and all green jersey points.
Personally, I think you were part of the committee who got him disqualified. 😉
Looked like a bit of a travesty to be honest. But guess what, I’ll take it
Nice scoring Init, it seems very apt that the day Froome takes the Yellow jersey, so do you.
Your team has been well thought out, as have your tactics of ‘less is more’ which it seems Kop and Mito are (belatedly) trying to replicate 😉
Quality not quantity
Tactics? It’s called cheating!! 😉
Me or Cav?!
Getting my victory speech ready either way… “I’d like to thank Paddy Power…..”
Considering you paid Cav to take a dive I consider you both guilty of cheating!