MLS Top Plays: Saturday May 16th
Well, we had a morning EPL sweat and hopefully we can carry that momentum into this afternoon MLS slate. The Saturday slate promises to be better suited to picking goalkeepers without having to close your eyes and hope they don’t concede 3 goals. This slate has six matches in it with some interesting plays and some good opportunities to sweat out throughout the entire Saturday afternoon with some good MLS action. As always, make sure you have checked your lineup up against the official starting XI as things do change in MLS and squad rotation is a very real thing. Good luck.
Goalkeepers
Tim Melia, Sporting Kansas City $3,600 – Bovada has Kansas City as the biggest favorite on this Saturday slate and for good reason. Their opponent, Colorado is currently in last place in the Western Conference and have scored less than a goal per game this season. For his price, Melia is a great choice as he’ll allow you to spend up elsewhere and may even be a safe play for cash games.
Bobby Shuttleworth, New England Revolution $5,000 – The other big favorite on the board for Saturday is New England. Shuttleworth has been consistently one of the better goalkeepers in MLS this season and the Revs are tops in the league in form in the last six weeks. For his price, Shuttleworth carries a bit of risk due to how expensive he is, but he should be a good bet for at least the win which carries an extra five points on DraftKings.
Other Keepers I Like: Evan Bush (Montreal, $4,600), David Ousted (Vancouver, $4,600), David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes, $4,500), Nik Rimando (Real Salt Lake, $4,700)
Defenders
Chris Tierney, New England Revolution $5,700 – Sticking with New England, Chris Tierney is my choice in defense as New England are expected to overmatch Toronto in this matchup and Tierney should be a part of that. Expect him to push forward and get a good percentage of his touches in the final third of the opponent. Tierney also will be delivering crosses for his forwards which puts him in a good spot to accumulate crosses stats as well as get some potential assists if one of his strikers can finish a good chance.
Waylon Francis, Columbus $4,500 – The Crew might be missing some key players here with Francis being listed as questionable, however, I think if Francis plays he makes for a great DEF2 on your DraftKings rosters as he will push forward for the Crew who have been doing great offensively recently with twelve goals in their last six matches. Francis has been getting almost 10% of the touches when he’s on the field and his field positioning indicates that he’s actively involved with the offense. If Francis isn’t in the starting XI then feel free to take whoever enters the starting XI to replace him as a full back.
Other Defenders I Like: Jalil Anibaba (Sporting Kansas City, $4,800), Matt Besler (KC, $4,600), London Woodberry (New England, $4,400)
Midfielders
Javier Morales, Real Salt Lake $7,600 – Morales leads all midfielders in MLS in key passes, he’s third in assists, and has four goals to show for the season. Salt Lake enter this match after an away win against the Chicago Fire and now head to Montreal who only have two points in five matches and haven’t won at home yet. Morales should be pushing forward and I expect RSL to win this game and maybe score a couple of goals with Morales being a major part of that effort.
Lee Nguyen, New England Revolution $8,300 – Back to the Revolution, Nguyen is my favorite midfield target in this match as he plays down the center and is a talented goal scorer and passer. He has scored five goals on the season so far and lives primarily right outside the opponent’s 18-yard box. This puts him in a great position to score or assist on a goal if/when New England goes up on their opponent today.
Other Midfielders I Like: Pedro Morales (Vancouver, $9,000), Diego Valeri (Portland, $6,300), Shea Salinas (San Jose Earthquakes, $4,500), Federico Higuain (Columbus, $8,000), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake, $4,900), Benny Feilhaber (Kansas City, $7,700), Kelyn Rowe (New England, $7,200)
Forwards
Kai Kamara, Columbus Crew $9,500 – The joint-top-goalscorer in MLS is Kamara and for good reason. He’s constantly moving and never sits still. It is very difficult for defenders to pin him down or to keep him from getting to where he needs to go to be productive and he has a very good first touch as well as being a great finisher. The Crew have relied on him and Higuain this season to score goals and win games for them and they find themselves right now in fourth place in the East with a chance to move up with a win today on the road in San Jose.
Juan Agudelo, New England Revolution $7,700 – Another New England play that I believe will come through today. If Davies sits this matchup, then Agudelo should push forward and be the striker of choice for the Revolution. Between him and the three attacking mids, Nguyen, Rowe and Fagundez, you should get the majority of the Revolution attack. It’s just a matter of picking the right one who scores a goal, and while I’m not in the business of calling goals, I will say that Agudelo is in one of the better spots to score this week.
Other Forwards I Like: Octavio Rivero (Vancouver, $9,400), Obefami Martins (Seattle, $10,000), Giles Barnes (Houston, $9,200), Kekutah Manneh (Vancouver, $5,000)