MLS Plays - Saturday, August 15th
I hope everybody had a successful morning with some EPL action today. We saw some unexpected results, but some fun matches that hopefully brought us some profits. Let’s keep the momentum going with some MLS this evening with five matches that should feature lots of scoring and some stars looking to capitalize on some optimal situations.
Let’s get on with the picks!
Goalkeepers
Bobby Shuttleworth, New England Revolution $5,200 – Pricing is tough today for MLS, but sometimes you have to spend up in some positions and it feels like goalkeeper will be a spot to spend up on while trying to save at defender and midfield. Shuttleworth and the Revs are big favorites today as they host the Houston Dynamo. On the road this year, the Dynamo aren’t very intimidating as they’ve only managed two wins in 11 tries, with 8 total goals scored. I think they’ll have a tough time today on the road and this should put Shuttleworth in a great spot to get the win.
Tim Melia, Sporting Kansas City $5,000 – At a slightly cheaper price, but also still on the expensive side, I would pivot to Melia. Vancouver is actually a tough opponent to have visit your home stadium, they’ve managed to accumulate 13 points in their last six away games which makes them the best road team in the league in the last few weeks. With impressive wins over the LA Galaxy, The Sounders, and The Timbers, I think that a lot of people will shy away from Melia this week. However, I think he stands on his head today and saves several shots that can lead to him having a very decent outing with saves being the main currency to supplement the win.
Other Goalkeepers I Like: Luis Robles (NYRB, $5,400), Nick Rimando (RSL, $4,500), Adam Kwarasey (POR, $5,300)
Defenders
Chris Tierney, New England Revolution $6,000 – If you decide to spend up at defender, Chris Tierney is a great spot to target. Like I said, the Revs are giant favorites and facing a Dynamo team, they’ll be pushing forward quite a bit. Tierney is a talented player and the Revs depend on him for crosses and facilitating play. He also has a very large discrepancy between his xA (expected assists) and his actual assists (5.19 to 1 actual assist) this stat is a good indicator that he is “due” for some assists given his propensity to deliver the ball to teammates in good situations that should result in goals.
Kemar Lawrence, NY Red Bulls $4,600 – This is a GPP pick as the Red Bulls are playing against Toronto FC in a game that I expect to be high scoring and full of goals. This should preclude Lawrence from any clean sheet bonuses, however, he was very active last time he started against NYC FC and managed 5 crosses and pushed forward quite a bit to support his teams attack. Look for him to repeat that performance today and he could put up a solid stat line.
Other Defenders I Like: Alvas Powell (POR, 4,800), Chance Myers (SKC, $4,200)
Midfielders
Michael Bradley, Toronto FC $5,600 – His price is still very low despite him returning from his absence with a bang scoring a goal for his team and playing all 90 minutes en route to a 3 shot, 1 cross, 1 goal performance. He’s cheap enough on a day where cheap plays are hard to come by, that I will be rostering him in my cash games and hoping for a back and forth affair in Red Bulls Stadium. Giovinco is my other choice from Toronto, but he’s so expensive ($13K) that I don’t know if affording him will be possible today without sacrificing heavily in other positions.
Javier Morales, Real Salt Lake $8,800 – If you’d rather go upper tier at midfield, then Javier Morales fits the bill. The RSL midfielder has scored or assisted in each of his last four games with the club and is looking like he could do it again with Portland coming to visit. Morales is a very talented player who should be the boost his team needs to get back to winning after losing a week ago 4-0 to the Whitecaps. The other options in this price range are listed below, and I debated heavily between Sam and Gerrard and Kljestan until finally settling on Morales due to what I believe will be low ownership.
Other Midfielders I Like: Lloyd Sam (NYRB, $8,200), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy, $6,900), Benny Feilhaber (SKC, $9,700), Mauro Diaz (FCD, $9,800), Steven Gerrard (LA Galaxy, $8,600), Sacha Kljestan (NYRB, $8,400), Luis Gil (RSL, $4,700), Cristian Techera (VAN, $4,500), Jimmy Medranda (SKC, $3,200)
Forwards
Brandon Wright-Phillips, NY Red Bulls, $11,500 – If you can’t spend the extra $2K in salary to move up to Giovinco, BWP might be the next best thing. He’s in a great spot today at home and with the challenge of out dueling Giovinco who is second in the league in scoring. I expect that BWP will end up on the score sheet today.
Charlie Davies, NE Revolution $8,500 – Davies plays a position that allows him to be the biggest beneficiary of an attacking style that the Revs like to employ. In a 4-3-2-1 formation, Davies is oftentimes the sole forward receiving crosses and key passes from teammates and attempting to put them away for a goal. On the season, he has nine goals so far on just 35 shots. And with a shot every 43 minutes he is on pace for a goal every couple of matches and Houston is the prime candidate to be the recipient of that goal.
Joao Plata, Real Salt Lake, $7,000 – Real Salt Lake is a slight favorite over Portland today in a match that should feature a number of goals. Look for Plata to start as part of a duo up front in a 4-4-2 and if he does then he’s the better finisher than Sebastian Jaime (RSL, $5,800) who can also put up a good score, but is more dependent on supply than Plata who can create for himself.
Other Forwards I Like: Sebastian Giovinco (TOR, $13,500), Robbie Keane (LA, $10,800), Fabian Castillo (FCD, $10,500), Gio Dos Santos (LA, $8,600), Dom Dwyer (SKC, $9,000)