MLS DFS Targets: Sunday, March 6th
With a new season of MLS starting on Sunday the soccer schedule is in full force with both EPL and UCL going on. This MLS season promises to be real big for the league and for DFS as DraftKings gets to channel a full season of partnerships with MLS and their clubs and we as fantasy players get to reap the benefits.
The matches on Sunday will come all day with 10 of them on the slate and with all the home teams favored we will face the task of pinpointing which teams deserve our attention and which ones we should avoid. This article will focus on the top plays with DraftKings pricing and scoring. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up on twitter at DFS_Hambazaza
If you want a primer on how to play Daily Fantasy Soccer, check out my guide.
Goalkeeper
David Bingham, San Jose Earthquakes $3,800 – With all the home teams favored, its important to look at the discrepancy between price and book-keeper’s odds. In that metric, Bingham comes out as the best value keeper. He’s the seventh most expensive goalkeeper while being the fifth best odds to get a win. With a matchup against Colorado (who don’t boast any real scary matchups) I like to take a chance on Bingham in an attempt to save some salary and spend up elsewhere.
Jesse Gonzalez, FC Dallas $4,200 – If you do choose to spend up, I like the young Dallas keeper against a weak Philadelphia Union team that is coming into this season as arguably one of the worst teams in MLS. Gonzalez makes for a good choice as Dallas looks to start its season with a win to carry over the momentum from last season where they finished in first place in the Western Conference, in part by taking care of the teams they needed to take care of.
Defenders
Harrison Afful, Columbus Crew $4,100 – Despite his name, Afful is not Awful, in fact, he’s quite good and playing for a good team as well. Afful averaged 6.4 crosses last season and should continue that role in the offense this season as Columbus start their season on the road against the team that beat them in the MLS Cup finals last December.
Maynor Figueroa, FC Dallas $2,800 – He’s been an attacking minded defender on a team that expected to get the win and facing a squad that has undergone a complete overhaul in the offseason. I expect that Dallas will maintain plenty of possession in this squad and Figueroa will benefit the most from this as it will allow him to push forward as often as he likes.
Brek Shea, Orlando City FC $3,300 – Orlando should have the upper hand in this matchup with Real Salt Lake. Shea should push forward and help out in the attack and might get an assist or even a goal from a set piece.
Midfielders
Cristian Maidana, Houston Dynamo $4,800 – Maidana led all players last season in crosses and routinely had games while playing for the Union, and routinely had games with double digit crosses. Maidana and the Dynamo face the New England Revolution, and while the Revs are underdogs here, they are the “biggest underdog” or in other terms, Houston are the weakest favorite. This game projects to be very close, home teams tend to do better in MLS than road teams, and I expect Maidana to deliver some crosses and maybe even score or assist on a goal for the Dynamo.
Diego Valeri, Portland Timbers $6,800 – He’s the maestro on offense for the defending champs and also handles all the crossing and corner kick duties for the team. I expect him to average more than double digits crosses this season in advantageous matchups and with Columbus coming to town, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him reach that figure in this one.
Andreas Ivanschitz, Seattle Sounders $3,900 – He’s very cheap and should be expected to take over crosses and corner kicks for the Sounders this season. He’s a great way to get some exposure to an attacking Seattle without breaking the bank.
John Goossens, Chicago Fire $4,800 – Chicago should start this season strong after being very disappointing last season. Goossens is expected to start in the midfield behind the forward Gilberto (CHI, $5,400) and this Chicago squad should be able to score some goals in this home matchup with NYC FC. Last season NYC looked very bad on defense, and with the arrival of new coach Patrick Vieira, it might take a while for the team to start taking shape in what he might expect to be a better defensive effort this season.
Forwards
Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC $9,400 – His price is so far out of reach that many people will likely avoid using him and instead opt for rostering someone cheaper. But you should absolutely, positively, most definitely put Giovinco in your lineups as he is coming off a monster season for Toronto and will be looking to continuing that this season. Last year he led Major League Soccer in both goals AND Assists. If you want an analogy to other sports, he was Russell Westbrook. He just couldn’t be stopped. The best team construction will likely include him and several players who cross more than 5-10 times a game.
Dairon Asprilla, Portland Timbers $4,200 – The Timbers begin their title defense in a rematch of their foe in the title game at home. Portland will look to get out to a big win and with the excitement of the first official MLS game since winning the MLS title last December, they’ll come out on fire. Asprilla is the cheapest forward on the squad and a good way to get some exposure to what should be a good offensive minded game. There aren’t a lot of cheap options at forward so until lineups come out, I like what Asprilla potentially offers.
Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy $8,000 – If you want to go with another expensive option at forward, I recommend taking a look at Robbie Keane who should be in a great spot here. He’s coming off a monster season as well and with the Galaxy looking to start the season with winning, they’ll look to Keane for some much needed scoring.