PICKS AND TEAM REVEAL
Gameweek 7 is upon us and gameweek 6 was another indication as to why the MLS is such an interesting league. DFS MLS is proving different to FPL but in a great way and we are here again this week with 11 out of the 12 games on the slate.
As always I will be breaking down game by game giving you my thoughts on who you can put into your line ups. FanTeam has again put up the main slate so you will need to pick 11 players to try and take down the slate.
THE CONTEST
The full round contest runs through 9-10 April
The full round game has 1 contest this week with an entry fee of €5 and a prizepool of €750.
The rules are simple to follow. You will be required to pick 11 players to fill out your squad whilst staying within a budget of 103.0m. For each team you enter, you must select a captain and a vice captain. Your captain will score 2x points. However, in the event that your captain does not play, your vice captain will then score 2x points.
You can select a maximum of 3 players from the same team. It is worth noting that if you select two or more defensive players from the same team (GK and DEF), and the team keeps a clean sheet, a stacking penalty will apply.
No bench required in this contest, folks. Instead, you have the innovative safety net feature to fall back on! This means if you have a player who does not start, your player will be replaced at the beginning of the match. This is dependent on a player being available from the same team, at the same price or less. The closest price to your player value will be automatically selected.
Standard scoring applies to this contest.
With the rules covered, let’s take a look at some of my picks from each game shall we?
THE GAMES
Inter Miami Vs New England Revolution – 8pm GMT – Both of these teams have had terrible starts to the season, which from a Miami point of view was probably expected but in terms of New England this was not part of their plans. These two met twice last season with the away team winning on both occasions. And despite the awful start I do expect New England to change their fortunes here and add more misery onto Phil Neville’s team. From a Miami point of view the only viable option is Gonzalo Higuain ( 9.9M ) but there are other options on the slate ahead of him. Carles Gil ( 8.8M ) feels like a great play here against such a poor team. New England have had injuries in attack but if Adam Buksa ( 8.9M ) is available I’d be getting him in also.
New York Red Bulls Vs CF Montreal – 9pm GMT – New York are coming off a good win away to New England and they face a Montreal team who can’t defend to save their lives. So it goes without saying really that one player I’ll be looking to get into my team is Patryk Klimala ( 12.8M ) however the price means you would need to find some bargains in other areas of your team. Lewis Morgan ( 13.5M ) is the most expensive player on the slate and i have no problem fading him here and trying to find better value elsewhere. No doubt this will come back to haunt me but other than his hat trick game he hasn’t done too much. Montreal are currently the joint worst defense in the MLS. So i do expect goals here. Montreal aren’t terrible going forward so there is potential for a couple of gems to look at. Djorde Mihailovic ( 6.2M ) could be that bargain you need in your team, 3 goals and an assist this season also. Kei Kamara ( 6M ) with a goal and 2 assists also could be a nice option to put upfront to free up funds also.
Philadelphia Union Vs Columbus Crew – 11pm GMT – Possibly the game of the weekend in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia have got off to a great start and are currently unbeaten this season. 3 Clean sheets in 5 as well and hold the second best defensive record in the league. They face a Columbus team who got off to a good start scoring for fun, but have not won away this season. The head to heads for these two usually result in the home team being victorious. One player I will be getting into my team here is Daniel Gazdog ( 11.1M ) with 4 goals this season and 3 clean sheets. Forward wise Philadelphia have an array of options with Chris Burke ( 10.5M ) being the most expensive which with the safety net you can risk playing him and if he doesnt start you get his replacement. Columbus will need Lucas Zelarayan ( 7.3M ) and Derrick Etienne ( 7.1M ) to be in form to try and get something from this game.
LA Galaxy Vs Los Angeles FC – 12.30am GMT – Game of the weekend here for me. Where do i start with this one? Goals, Goals and more goals. Since 2018 when this rivalry started we have had 58 goals in 13 games. Which is just over 4 goals a game. 10 of these games have seen both teams score. The away team has only won once in this time also. Last season saw 2 draws and a Galaxy win. This is also a fiesty affair with 17 cards in 3 games last season. LAFC sit first in the Western Conference and the Galaxy sit third. From a MLS point of view this game is as big as Man City Vs Liverpool this weekend. Now i’ve bigged the game up enough, let’s prepare ourselves for the first ever 0-0. Attacking wise Javier Hernandez ( 10.4M ) has 4 goals to his name. Carlos Vela ( 10.6M ) also has 4 goals to his name. Vela has 2 assists as well. Raheem Edwards ( 8.8M ) has 3 assists this season and with Douglas Costa possibly missing this weekend could be a good option for your midfield. Now I don’t expect a clean sheet here but a defender that catches the eye is Ryan Hollingshead ( 8.1M ) Some say he is the Trent Alexander Arnold of the MLS world, 2 goals and an assist so far this season, could he be the point scoring defender you need? LAFC do love a defender scoring with 3 of them bagging already this season, so an option for your defense maybe.
Real Salt Lake Vs Toronto – 1am GMT – Real Salt Lake are the team separating the two LA teams and sit second in the Western Conference. They have had a small blip in their last two games but both of those were away from home and they only picked up one point. Back on home soil and they are two wins out of two with wins against Nashville and Seattle. The home team in this fixture is usually the victor with six of the last seven going to the home side. Toronto may have something to say about that this weekend and currently have two wins in their last two games however both of these have been on home soil. All this makes for an interesting match. Zac MacMath ( 9.3M ) despite only keeping one clean sheet is the highest point scoring goalkeeper in the FanTeam season long, he has made 24 saves in five games. Tate Schmitt ( 11M ) is the joint top scorer for Real Salt Lake with two goals from a left wing back/midfield position. However the price here probably puts me off. Jesus Jimenez ( 7.1M ) is the main man for Toronto and has three goals and an assist to his name, along with Jonathan Osorio ( 6.7M ) and Alejandro Pozuelo ( 7M ) Toronto will need these three on the same wavelength to try and take a result here.
FC Dallas Vs Colorado Rapids – 1.30am GMT – Both teams here sit on eight points each after five games. Dallas being unbeaten at home and Colorado struggling away from home. Both only have one defeat each. So on paper a tight game is expected here. Looking back at head to head the away team in this fixture hasn’t won since 2016 there has been 8 home wins and 4 draws since the last away win. So everything is pointing towards Dallas winning here. To do so they will need Jesus Ferreira ( 10.3M ) to add to his three goals and Maarten Paes ( 8.1M ) to add to his two clean sheets for the season. Colorado will be looking at their talisman Diego Rubio ( 7.6M ) and their midfield threat Mark-Anthony Kaye ( 7M ) to add to their two goals they have each to try and end the away team jinx.
Houston Dynamo Vs San Jose Earthquakes – 1.30am GMT – Houston seem to be going about their business quietly, they started slow but are now unbeaten in their last three and they face a San Jose team who defensively have been terrible, they have the joint worst defense in the Western Conference. From what seems to be a bit of a trend this weekend, the away team in this fixture has not won since 2016, the home team winning seven out of nine times since the last away win. The people at FanTeam have noticed Houston’s slow rise so the value here is hard to find, however Darwin Quintero ( 11.3M ) and Fabrice Picault ( 11.7M ) will be licking their lips this weekend. Steve Clark ( 9.1M ) could be a good goalkeeper option. If San Jose are to score here then they will need Jan Gregus ( 5.9M ) to add to his three assists and hoping Jeremy Ebobisse ( 6.7M ) can add to his tally after getting his first goal of the season last weekend.
Sporting Kansas City Vs Nashville SC – 1.30am GMT – Here we are again with Nashville playing their 6th away game whilst waiting patiently to play at their new stadium. The fact they have played five away from home and have seven points shows they are a tough team to play. Sporting Kansas have played six games and sit on six points and fell to defeat vs Vancouver last weekend which is a worry. Sporting will be looking to bounce back from that and will need Daniel Salloi ( 9.4M ) who is there talisman to pull them through this game. Nashville aren’t one for scoring many having not scored more than one in a game so far this season, so I do like Tim Melia ( 7.5M ) for a cheaper goalkeeping option here. Hany Mukhtar ( 7.5M ) has two assists this season and with Nashville only having four goals, he will need to pull the strings to add to this. It wouldn’t surprise me if this game finished 0-0, I don’t expect many goals here.
Vancouver Whitecaps Vs Portland Timbers – 3am GMT – Possibly the game on the slate where you either want nobody because it doesn’t scream excitement or you want a couple of players as it has the potential to be a goal fest. Vancouver have conceded nine goals in five games and Portland have conceded eleven goals in six games. So defense probably isn’t where you want to focus here. It may surprise you though that Vancouver’s goalkeeper Thomas Hasal ( 7.4M ) is the best scoring player for Vancouver in the FanTeam season long contest. Strangely Aljaz Ivacic ( 7.1M ) Portland’s goalkeeper is the second highest scoring player in the season long contest for Portland. Both have made plenty of saves whilst also shipping a few goals.
Charlotte Vs Atlanta United – Sunday 6.30pm GMT – Charlotte were tipped to be the whipping boys this season, whilst away from home they do seem to be unable to win. At home they have come into their own and have won their last two games in front of their home crowd. Atlanta have got off to a solid start and sit third in the Eastern Conference and have already beaten Charlotte this season at home 2-1. Karol Swiderski ( 8.7M ) has been pivotal to Charlotte’s wins scoring all four of his goals in the home victories vs Cincinnati and New England. Ben Bender ( 8.6M ) has three assists and a goal also and the link up between him and Swiderski is key for Charlotte to win here. Atlanta could be without Josef Martinez ( 11.3M ) with rumors of an injury picked up in the last game. Brooks Lennon ( 8.1M ) again appeals here as he is playing in a more attacking role and has two assists and a goal this season from ‘defense’.
Austin Fc Vs Minnesota – Monday 12.30am GMT – Despite sitting 4th in the Western Conference I am not convinced on Austin. The first two games they won 5-0 and 5-1 against Cincinnati and Inter Miami, but since then have not won. They have only failed to score once so far this season and Sebastian Driussi ( 11.2M ) has four goals and an assist to his name. Diego Fagundez ( 10.8M ) has a goal and three assists so far this season, and Austin will be looking for both to be firing here to get one over Minnesota. These teams played three times last season with Minnesota winning two and Austin the other, with all three games being won to nil. If you have managed to wait till the last game to pick a player Dayne St.Clair ( 6.5M ) has two clean sheets in three games since becoming the starter in goal for Minnesota. Robin Lod ( 7.7M ) with a goal and assist this season as well as three clean sheet points could be a cheap option for your midfield. I do expect goals here as Minnesota have scored in every game so far this season.
TEAM REVEAL
As this contest allows multi entries, I will likely be entering different line ups. Here’s an example of one of my line ups I will be entering using some of the players mentioned.
I hope this article has given you plenty of food for thought – especially for those of you that know very little about MLS, but are playing in Saturday’s Full Round contest.
MLS Full Round cash contests start at 8.00pm BST, so be sure to enter your lineups early to avoid missing out.
Please feel free to message me on Twitter @David_Bailey8 if you have any questions – all support queries should go to @FanTeamOfficial.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
If you’re new to FanTeam then you’ll need to create a new account here – alternatively, head on over to fanteam.com and click the green ‘Register’ button in the top right corner.
Existing users can click the graphic below for direct access to the weekly monster or head on over to the Football lobby.
Best of luck to everyone entering – I look forward to seeing your usernames on the Leaderboard.
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