MLS GW24 Tips – Fantasy Major League Soccer

MLS GW24 Tips – Fantasy Major League Soccer

The FMLS game, in as much as it was a holdover until FPL started, has now run its course for many people. But for those few true addicts of fantasy football, this is still the perfect time to play FMLS. Not only do you get the benefit of having acquired more funds during the course of the year, but you have a pretty good idea now of who the real superstars are going to be week in and week out. FPL is king, but FMLS still has a purpose of being your court jester to keep your fantasy wits sharp.

Here’s what you need to know going into this gameweek:

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#1) Giovinco is all you need
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[/three_fourth]In a sense, this is the truth. Even though his ownership rates fall below that of Kamara and Feilhaber, Giovinco’s 26.2% ‘selected by’ rate is still too low. There simply isn’t a more dynamic, or potentially productive, player on the field. And the good news for his owners is that Toronto FC only have one bye week left this year (GW32). So from here on out, there simply isn’t any reason to drop him.

A long while back, I told owners to grab Giovinco while he was still affordable. Now at $12.9, he’s quickly escalating into that territory where he may be unreachable for many players if they choose to hold off getting him. If he continues to tack-on $0.2 to his price every gameweek, by the time the game is done he could very well cost $14.9 or more. Don’t wait until it’s too late to snatch him up.

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#2) The LA problem
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[/three_fourth]The LA Galaxy play in Dallas this week, and it’s easy to write FC Dallas off due to their horrible form they had a while ago on their monster road series. But FC Dallas are an entirely different club at home (and aren’t they all?). Consider that in FC Dallas’ last four home matches, they are 4-0-0 and have two clean sheets and have only allowed two goals. Those are huge numbers for a home side.

And the LA Galaxy haven’t quite been up to snuff on the road this year. Sure, they beat Colorado last week, but Dallas are much better than the Rapids. And let’s also consider that the temperature in Dallas this weekend is slated to be 100 degrees fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius for our European fans). In fact, it’s supposed to be 100+ temperatures for the entire week leading up to the match — so any training will also be done in the heat for the Galaxy players. Remember what happened to LA when they played against Houston in similar conditions? They melted.

Now, the only player who might already be used to this heat is Giovani Dos Santos ($10.2, M). Coming from the Mexican national team (and being from Mexico in general) will be an advantage for the young newcomer to the MLS. But by the looks of things, he’ll be the only player in any sort of comfortable shape. Do LA have the skill to play well? Absolutely. Are they still a risk in the southern heat? Yes. Proceed with caution.

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#3) Should David Villa be kept?
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[/three_fourth]NYCFC haven’t had a good showing since the “Big Three” have played together as starters. In fact, Pirlo and Lampard have been absolutely uninspired during their brief stay here in the States. But NYCFC are playing at home this week against DC United — and any home game for NYCFC usually means goals (for both sides). So will the home scoring of NYCFC win out, or will the play of Pirlo and Lampard continue to slow down the squad and make Villa unworkable?

In NYCFC’s last three home matches, they’ve scored eleven goals total. That’s a huge amount of goals, and it can’t simply be dismissed based solely on the fact that City played so poorly on the road last week. For whatever reason, Villa seems to have worked out all of the wonky angles of playing on a baseball diamond, and the smaller pitch has worked for his offensive output. It’s hard to toss him aside so quickly knowing that they’ll play at home this week.

And to be fair, we haven’t seen the Big Three play together on the smaller pitch of Yankee Stadium for a full 90 minutes yet. Maybe the cure for Pirlo and Lampard not wanting to run is simply taking away the vast amount of space that a typical pitch brings. The truth is, Villa has scored an average of 6.3 points per game in his last three road fixtures (and that’s with a couple of blanks and a single massive score). But his last three home fixtures have him scoring at an average of 12.6 points per game. Even with Pirlo and Lampard being worries, the more I think about it, the more I think that Villa is a good option one more time at home.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The NYCFC vs DC game kicks off on Thursday this week. So make sure to get your transfers done early enough to not miss out on the action this weekend.

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#4) Planning for the DGW’s and bye weeks
The real story of this week is two impending DGW’s in Rounds 25 and 26. Round 25 will see Columbus, NYCFC, San Jose and SKC play twice. Like this last DGW, there are some choice options to be had in Round 25. Round 26 will see Chicago, Colorado, Houston and NYRB playing twice. The second DGW isn’t nearly as attractive as the first, but it still must be accounted for this late in the year for those players looking to make a real push up the ranks.

The byes for this week are Columbus and Montreal. Columbus causes a bit of a problem because it makes the whole field wait another week before loading up on their players for the DGW. Montreal have sufficiently angered the masses, so nobody is shedding any tears in offloading them this week after a shameful showing in their DGW last round.

The byes for Round 25 will be New England and NYRB. Again, the NYRB make it hard on people looking to cash in on an early start to their DGW in Round 26. New England are pretty much a non-factor at this point, so they don’t need to be worried over. But NYRB had some good players during their past DGW, so owners will be chomping at the bit to reload on their players as soon as possible.
There are no byes to worry about in Round 26.

The keys to navigating this stretch of games will be patience and risk management. It will be hard to maximize on the DGW’s when bye weeks are giving everybody a staggered start to their preparations — but the cheaper players can probably be picked up and stashed away for a week if need be. And prepare yourself to take a few point hits in the coming weeks. With four teams on a DGW in back to back rounds, a properly executed point deduction will pay off in the long run.

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#5) Rapid-fire notes
Pah Modou Kah ($7.0, D) is the most transferred in player this round. With three goals in his last two matches, the Vancouver defender is finding some kind of form that he’s never really shown before. Couple his output with back to back clean sheets, and Kah is the player that should be seriously looked at if you’re looking for an option to replace Ciman this week.

Qunicy Amarikwa ($7.0, F) has gone under the radar with four goals in his last four matches. The San Jose striker is finally providing some scoring relief that Wondolowski has rarely been able to enjoy. Keep an eye on this kid going into his DGW, he may be worth picking up this round as San Jose play at home to Colorado.

Kaka ($11.8, M) is the most transferred out player that isn’t currently on a bye week. There are rumors that his fitness isn’t completely up to snuff again. But being the MLS, nobody knows anything for sure about….anybody. Kaka had a 4 point effort in his last match, and assuming he plays, going away to Seattle may actually be good for him. Seattle have a serious problem stopping any kind of attack right now.

Chris Rolfe ($9.5, M) is actually projected to score big points this week against NYCFC. It’s easy to forget that DC lead the Eastern Conference right now — but many fantasy owners just threw in the towel with DC long ago when their week to week lineups were picked via a seemingly drunken darts match. One thing is certain though, NYCFC concede goals. And Rolfe has been on the points recently with 20 points over his last two rounds, so he should be at least considered.
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#3 – The Captain Picks
Top Tier — Giovinco How do you overlook Giovinco after the tear that he’s been on? This week Toronto travel to New Jersey to play the NYRB, and Giovinco is one of the few players that isn’t hampered by fixtures. If you left Gio as your de facto captain for the rest of the year, you’ll probably score more than your fair share of points. Sometimes you can cheat the Matrix and find the loop that shows you when a defender will go off for a brace and a clean sheet, but for the most part it’s a safe bet to stick with the Chosen One.

Second Tier — Benny Feilhaber
SKC will entertain Vancouver this week, and I’m thinking that the road trip will be sufficiently long enough to throw the resurgent Canadian club off their game to let Feilhaber do what he does. Feilhaber just doesn’t stop producing. In fact, his 25 points over his last three matches seem almost pedestrian compared to what he has been able to produce. He simply earns points for owners. And that’s means he’s a steady option for a good return on points if you’re looking for a safe play this week.

The Differential Pick — Giovani Dos Santos
Like I said above, the Texas heat shouldn’t affect GSD like it does many other players. And GSD looks like he’s already meshed well with the team after his goal and assist performance in his debut. If the rest of the LA team is lagging behind due to the temperature, I can see a scenario in which GSD is used as the engine that gets forward on the receiving end of some pinpoint deliveries.

Good luck everybody.

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MLS GW24 Tips – Fantasy Major League Soccer This article was written by Guy Sanchez (FootyFantastic)

Follow @Guy_M_Sanchez

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Don’t forget that Guy does have his own MLS blog and we highly recommend a visit as it expands even more upon the current GW – http://www.footyfantastic.com/