This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Welcome back to our weekly DraftKings MLS recommendations. We're going to examine two potential winning lineups for this weekend's slate and dive into the strategic side of lineup construction, while still presenting a bundle of great plays to target. Keep in mind that there are countless ways to build a winning DraftKings lineup, and these are just two approaches that I think could pay off.
Lineup No. 1: Fantastic Four
We can all thank the Gold Cup, injuries, and suspensions for a wild weekend of MLS matchups. Games like Seattle at Chicago feature multiple teams at half-strength that I'd love to pick against, but that play each other. Other vulnerable groups like Philadelphia, Orlando City and Colorado are at home, making their opponents slightly less attractive options. Overall, I think this week is not one to worry much about the home/road factor, and it will be evident in this study and flexible lineup.
First, as mentioned on the RotoWire MLS podcast, Javier Morales feels like a player we want anchoring many lineups this week. He's playing in a rivalry match at Colorado, a team he historically has terrorized. While Real Salt Lake are missing many pieces, they have the depth to remain competitive. Colorado actually aren't missing many players, they are just flat out not good. Morales will be, by far, the best player on the pitch in this match and his price is borderline insulting. Snap him up at $7,200 and don't look back.
There's one other player I feel like I need to have, and that is Fabian Castillo. He and Mauro Diaz have been playing excellent of late, and Orlando City are having a tough time fielding a starting eleven this week. The Lions are at home, and manager Adrian Heath could pull this off somehow, but odds are FC Dallas blows this one open similar to their dismantling of New England last week. I want that potential in my lineup, which Castillo's deadly speed and aggressive attacking style certainly give us. While we're on the topic of FC Dallas, I'm really digging Dan Kennedy in goal this week. He has clean sheets in two straight matches and now faces an Orlando City team missing it's two best attackers in Kaka and Cyle Larin. His price is slightly lower than some of the other guys I was looking at in net, and we'll be needing these savings later.
Next, I want to grab a pair of attacking players to complement Castillo and Morales. Kei Kamara and Lee Nguyen are two top options this week. Kamara is daily fantasy gold this season, grabbing goals, assists and shots at a higher rate than almost anybody else. He's the cheapest of the three premier forward plays on this slate (Castillo and Bradley Wright-Phillips being the others) and that we can fit two of them into our lineup is a big advantage. Playing at Montreal doesn't concern me at all for a Columbus side that don't know how to play a defensive match, even on the road. Our fourth member of the Fantastic Four, is Nguyen. He's almost as much of a value as Morales and is also playing in a bit of a rivalry match against a New York Red Bulls side missing four or five of its defenders. He has averaged double-digit fantasy points over the past four matches, but he still is looking for a multi-goal or assist effort to really weigh down the bandwagon (I'll leave room for all of you guys on the Ethan Finlay wagon).
We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel now, with three spots to fill and just $9,300. Don't fret, I've had this planned out all along. I want a piece of the Chicago-Seattle game, but only in the way that I stop at a really awful yard sale and feel like I have to buy something. Since David Accam described himself as "maybe ready to go on Saturday," perhaps we can't rely on that, and Lamar Neagle is too pricey at $7,000. I'm left looking at Kennedy Igboananike or Thomas, Seattle's new(ish) Brazilian midfielder. Thomas is just $3,500 and had three shots, two fouls drawn and two crosses in his last match. Somebody is going to have to attack this depleted Fire back line, and I'm looking to Thomas to give us some value in the flex spot. Finally, let's talk defense. This is a really weak slate for defensive options, so I'm simply filling in two cheap starters. Eric Miller and Connor Lade are both under $3,000 and playing at home. Sure, we have attackers going against them, which isn't ideal, but they should provide a cheap source of a few points. We spent smart money on our pricey attackers, which is more valuable to me than guessing on defenders this week.
This lineup is screaming for you to tinker with it. If you like the Chicago side of that match with Seattle, perhaps swap Nguyen for Igboananike and invest the difference in your defense. If we see Fanendo Adi starting against Philadelphia, perhaps we pounce on that and shift some savings from one of our top forwards. I'll be rolling into this slate waiting on pins and needles to see the lineups and tweak this group from there.
Devil's Advocate: As usual, I've skimped on defense. Somewhere, another lineup is going to hit on some riskier attacking options and have a shot to dethrone us on the strength of their defense. Also, using a midfielder in the flex spot never feels as good as using a forward. All five of our attacking players are on the road and, even for somebody who doesn't buy into that much for Major League Soccer, it's kind of extreme.
Why We'll Win: It will be truly surprising if at least three of our Fantastic Four do not have good games. Thomas is as great a value as it gets as our fifth option, and he has the tools to burn the Fire. Kennedy should see plenty of shots from an Orlando City side hoping to surprise their home crowd, and it's a good bet that they'll be mostly poor quality. I love that high upside with save points and the clean sheet. Most of all, our lineup is extremely flexible, which is important on a night of unpredictable lineups.
Lineup No. 2: Depleted Defenses
Let me begin by saying that this lineup is quite the gamble, and probably should not be used in 50/50s or Head-to-heads. We're rolling the dice with this one by targeting the defenses most suffering around the league and fading the top three forwards on the slate. This lineup also allows us to grab what should be elite plays on defense and in goal. First, let's look at the weak defenses we want to target. Be sure to check out our excellent Fit or Miss column, which is invaluable when doing this kind of exercise.
As mentioned in Lineup No. 1, the New York Red Bulls are suffering greatly along the back line. We could roll with Lee Nguyen again, but Charlie Davies has popped into my mind as a potential fantasy play for the first time in months. He's still overpriced, but Davies always seems to bring his best for the matches against the Red Bulls, and those prior matches have usually featured a far stouter defense. The next team I'm looking to pick against is Real Salt Lake. Colorado shocked the Whitecaps with a two-goal outing, and with Salt Lake missing up to four defenders and Kyle Beckerman, I think they could get on the board a few times again. Luis Solignac has five shots in each of his prior two home matches, and is a player I have been desperately waiting to see break out. A 16-point outing last weekend was promising, and I hope to see more of the same this week.
We'll move to the game that I previously described as a terrible yard sale. I still feel like goals are ripe for the taking in this one, but wish we could see the lineups before the early games lock. Regardless, let's buy an attacking player from each side. Lamar Neagle is another player I don't often use, like Davies, but know will be in a good attacking position against a bad back line. Chicago are missing their best two defenders, possibly their third, and also might not have recently acquired Ty Harden available. Chad Barrett, Thomas and Gonzalo Pineda could be other good Sounders alternatives for a cheaper price tag. From Chicago, I continue to like Igboananike, who brings a ton of hustle, both helping him draw fouls and create shots. The Sounders are without starting goalkeeper Stefen Frei (shoulder) and center back Brad Evans (international duty), and Chicago may actually be rounding into an above average offense, particularly when Shaun Maloney (back) returns. David Accam (hamstring) is preferable for $1,000 less if he starts, which could allow you to upgrade Solignac or Neagle if you so desire.
Given our cheap forwards with good match ups, we are left with enough salary to fill out our lineup with virtually whoever we want. In goal, Adam Kwarasey is too good a bet to ignore. Portland's defense is missing Alvas Powell (international duty), but are still one of the finest in the league, and Philadelphia inspires very little in terms of offense. Keepers on the road are somewhat underrated in that they typically face more shots, which gives a high upside when the match up is right. I also want to grab Chris Tierney. In my mind, he still has the highest attacking potential of any fullback in the league (though Tyrone Mears is closing in) and with a weak Red Bulls back line, I think he might press the issue even more than usual this weekend. We have our choice of elite midfielders, and I'm still drawn to the FC Dallas side of the game in Orlando City. Mauro Diaz has been on fire lately after a bit of a slump, and is the premier midfield talent for Dallas. Admittedly, it was tough to ignore Diego Valeri and Federico Higuain in the same price range. Finally, I'm going to roll out Ambroise Oyongo once more. He's a popular player in this column due to his attacking skill and I don't think he's even neared his ceiling in this league. Taylor Peay or Jack Jewsbury are cheaper defensive options who should start for Portland if you'd rather double down on the Timbers against Philadelphia.
Devil's Advocate: Not having at least one of Bradley Wright-Phillips, Fabian Castillo or Kei Kamara is just asking to lose. Sure, the guys picked here have better match ups, but in MLS talent is at a premium and ignoring the elite players could prove foolish. Also, with two players in the Seattle v. Chicago match, we're actually going to have to watch that dumpster fire.
Why We'll Win: Often, fantasy sports are about exploiting the best match ups. We're seemingly going out on a limb, but also wisely attacking the teams who should suffer the most defensively. That said, we haven't invested too much into any one offense and instead spread out our risk among viable value plays. Our defense is quite strong, and while Tierney and Oyongo don't bring high clean sheet potential, they bring goal potential. Again, on a night when watching the lineups could be crucial, we've offered ourselves a lot of room to switch things around. If we want to shift some salary around, Neagle can bump down to a cheaper Seattle attacker and Diaz can turn into a Javier Morales, Ignacio Piatti or Lee Nguyen. Play around with some different combinations and go take down a tournament with this bold lineup.
