This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Lineup No. 1: Double Stack
There are many appealing things about the lineup we're about to walk through, and one turn-off. Every attacking player is at home, and we have at least one share of each of the top five projected scoring teams. Unfortunately, many of these picks will be very popular plays after great performances last weekend.
The two pillars of this lineup are the mini-stacks of Columbus and Los Angeles attackers. Kei Kamara has disappointed fantasy buyers during his four road matches, but he has two goals and 13 shots in his two home fixtures. Justin Meram tallied a whopping 33 points last weekend despite being the overlooked member of the Columbus front four. Meram may not have Ethan Finlay's blazing speed or Federico Higuain's playmaking instincts, but he's extremely well-rounded and has a tremendous touch that can unlock a defense both for himself and for teammates. I think he's priced fairly but carries more potential in this matchup than most other midfielders in that range. The Crew look as though they've shaken off their rust and host a Houston Dynamo defense that surely haven't shed theirs. Outside of a rematch with NYC FC, the matchup couldn't be much better for Kamara and Meram.
We talked on the RotoWire MLS Podcast this week about just how much Vegas' loves the Galaxy this weekend. They're apparently nearly three times as likely to score at least three goals than they are to score zero. While that seems misguided to me, it is also an indication that Real Salt Lake's defense could show its true colors at any moment, as they've been seriously outperforming expectations. Until last weekend, the Galaxy attack was doing the opposite. Now, they return home after a four-goal romp in Houston and will look to continue the scoring. Giovani dos Santos showed why he was a coveted signing last season and it's possible this offense simply works better without Robbie Keane at the moment. Gyasi Zardes ($5,100) is allowed to play more directly, and dos Santos doesn't have to worry about operating in the same areas as Keano. Mike Magee and Sebastian Lletget are putting the work in on the wings and Steven Gerrard looked mildly competent last weekend as well. Playing both Zardes and dos Santos boosts our ceiling if they connect for a goal, but it also feels safe. Los Angeles are almost certain to score a couple goals this weekend and there's a great chance at least one is involved.
Rounding out our attack are Tranquillo Barnetta, Jermaine Jones and Nicolas Mezquida. Barnetta appears poised to get his first start since working his way back from injury. He's the clear leader of this year's Philadelphia Union and has stepped up to the plate when he's gotten on the pitch. He will be on MLS fans' minds after two great free kick goals this season, but he is capable of producing in other ways as well. Philadelphia are an increasingly dangerous team and host a New York City side that are far from a fortress in the back. Jones returned from his six-game suspension to debut with his new side, the Colorado Rapids. He was definitively angry and hungry in his initial 90 minutes, a term I believe the kids are calling "hangry" these days. If Jones unleashes half of the wrath he let the Red Bulls have last week, he'll pay off his cost in our lineups. Finally, the Mezquida selection is a product of our salary restrictions. The Whitecaps continue to be without their top playmaker Pedro Morales but desperately need to get the attack back in gear. Mezquida may give them the best chance to do just that, in a somewhat understated No. 10 role. Ultimately, he does play a very tough FC Dallas side, but for the price we can't be terribly picky.
Our defense and keeper is where we'll hopefully set ourselves apart from other "chalk" teams. We don't have much salary remaining, so the best fullbacks are off the board. However, we can try to chase set piece goals. Steve Birnbaum and Jelle Van Damme are two of the most dangerous centerbacks in MLS when it comes to heading in a goal, while Real Salt Lake and New England Revolution are both below average at defending them. Both defenders also have a solid chance at earning a clean sheet. It's a bit of an all-or-nothing approach, but in a landscape where many fullbacks simply struggle to reach double-digit points, we may not even be missing out on much. I also grabbed Jordan Allen in hopes he'll fill Joao Plata's spot in the lineup. He's proven a somewhat dangerous winger in the past, and remains one of the more promising young prospects in the league despite handing us disappointing DraftKings point totals each week so far.
I've also gone with Clint Irwin ($3,100) in goal. It's a tremendous price for a keeper who's allowing less than a goal per game this season. Montreal are highly favored, and projected to be one of the better scoring teams this week, but Irwin's Toronto FC are capable of stealing this one. It's not my favorite keeper play this week, but I'm willing to compromise to get the attacking pieces I want.
Devil's Advocate: Many other teams might look similar to ours. We're missing a Chris Tierney or Ronald Matarrita to really make our defensive unit competitive, and may be best suited swapping dos Santos to an Andreas Ivanschitz or Ignacio Piatti to afford the upgrade. This may finally be the week where we need two elite forwards to cash, as was the case many times last year but hasn't been yet this season.
Why We'll Win: The players we picked are simply on a run of good form and mostly have favorable matchups at home. Kamara and dos Santos both could be the week's highest scorers. Even if this team is too similar to take over a tournament, we have a great chance to be in the money positions at day's end.
Lineup No. 2: Rapid Ascent
Enough with only getting halfway onto the bandwagon, it's much more fun to drive the bandwagon! This lineup is centered around the Colorado Rapids in anticipation of their domination of a Seattle Sounders side that may be without Clint Dempsey and Nelson Valdez.
Jermaine Jones simply gave the Rapids a swagger that they had not carried for years. They won't become an offensive juggernaut overnight, but the value is there with Jones and Dominique Badji, who will likely start on the wing in place of Marco Pappa. Seattle are average defensively and Colorado have some momentum coming into the weekend. Defensively, the Rapids have been quite good. If Seattle truly are missing Dempsey, the attack becomes fairly one-dimensional and I can see a clean sheet in the Rocky Mountains. For that reason, Zac MacMath and Eric Miller become attractive options. The Miller pick assumes that he moves back to his preferred fullback spot and Axel Sjoberg rejoins the lineup at center back. If Dillon Powers returns to the lineup and you want to shift things around, he could be a good alternative to Jones or Badji.
The Colorado savings will help us pick some top shelf attackers. David Villa ($8,500) is my top forward pick this week ahead of Sebastian Giovinco and Kei Kamara. He has his shooting boots on this season, and a far better team around him than last year when he scored 18 goals and added eight assists. I'm not leery of a short road trip to Philadelphia for Villa, who has 42 points in two road matches this season.
Lucas Ontivero. Piatti and Ontivero should find plenty of space with Toronto FC scrambling to defend Didier Drogba, and they'll also benefit from having the big target to serve crosses to. The bookmakers like Montreal this weekend with Toronto playing their seventh straight road match. Though Piatti has averaged just 7.5 points per game in the four matches since his red-hot start, I'm not nervous about his talent shining through in this one.
Our final attacking picks are Tranquillo Barnettaand Mike Magee. Both Barnetta and the Galaxy attack got some love in the first lineup, so not much explanation is needed here. The value is very good with Barnetta. Magee provides some cheap exposure to a Los Angeles Galaxy side that I can't bring myself to fade. The same rationale goes for Columbus, so if you want to swap Barnetta for Meram, I couldn't blame you.
In addition to MacMath and Eric Miller, I've brought Ronald Matarrita into the back line. This season more than last, the top lineups in MLS daily fantasy seem to have been making room in their budget for one of the top fullbacks. Matarrita gives us that at a price that is cheaper than Chris Tierney ($6,000!) and Taylor Kemp ($4,800). Jordan Allen fits in again at the comfortable price of just $3,100. If he doesn't play, we should be able to pivot to Walker Zimmerman of FC Dallas, whose match starts at the same time.
Devil's Advocate: This is awfully quick to buy into a Pablo Mastroeni led fantasy wasteland. As mentioned earlier, we don't have any piece of the Columbus Crew, who have a juicy matchup. Is Giovinco injured this week...we didn't pick him in either lineup!? The midfield feels one playmaker short of a great lineup.
Why We'll Win: Villa, Piatti and Barnetta will need to carry this group, but they're highly capable of doing so. If the Rapids step up, we'll be feeling pretty good about our chances heading into the last match with Magee.
