This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Lineup No. 1: Bread and Butter
We're back to a nearly full weekend of MLS fixtures. Some teams are still looking for their first win (Seattle) while others are looking to continue their hot start (Sporting Kansas City). It's been awhile since many of these teams played, but the daily fantasy scene is already getting quite familiar. This lineup is all about relying on players who have already shown their value and keeping things simple. It's also incredibly flexible and, as always, I'll encourage you to play around with it and make it your own tournament winning force.
In defense, my thinking was simple. I want to save as much salary as possible while getting three respectable point producers. This doesn't look to be a week for the high-price attacking fullbacks as most are on the road against good teams. I elected to go with a trio of familiar faces in Ryan Hollingshead ($3,300), Rodrigo Ramos ($3,300) and Jordan Allen ($3,000). Hollingshead simply finds ways to earn points every single week, mostly defensively, but often enough in attack as well. He'll have a busy day as Dallas look to assert their league dominance while hosting a talented Columbus side. Rodrigo Ramos is a good option against Philadelphia, particularly if the Fire play with five defenders and let Ramos and Brandon Vincent bomb forward on the wing. He looked lively in his first 90-minute appearance and is an exciting young player. If he keeps it up, his price won't be this low forever. Jordan Allen should start in an attacking midfield spot once more, which makes him a no-brainer to fill one of our defender spots regardless of matchup. In goal, I opted for David Bingham ($4,400). He's expensive, but there isn't a better matchup in Major League Soccer now than playing host to DC United on a cross-country trip.
To start our midfield, I've rounded up a trio of this column's favorites: Mauro Diaz ($7,500), Andreas Ivanschitz ($5,100) and Arturo Alvarez ($3,600). Each carries incredible value thanks to his crossing totals, but it's worth noting that Diaz and Ivanschitz are key to their attacks in many other ways, too. Admittedly, both Diaz and Ivanschitz are reaching prices that require alternatives to be considered whereas they were locks earlier in the season. Regardless, we're paying for safety here as both are highly unlikely to gives us a disappointing total, and still carry high ceilings. All three choices are playing at home, which increases their appeal even further.
Also in the midfield, I'm looking to Dillon Powers and Roland Alberg to provide some salary relief. Both are in positions to guide their attacks, but are available at discounted prices. The Rapids will be without Kevin Doyle after suffering a leg gash while playing with Ireland. Colorado's other gash, Shkelzen Gashi, looks likely to play but did pick up a knock during international duty. Regardless of who surrounds him in the attack, Dillon Powers has the tools to put up points against Toronto FC. Alberg travels to Chicago and will hope to continue Philadelphia's surprising start to the 2016 MLS season. Manager Jim Curtin has been keen to yank Ilsinho and Alberg from matches around the 60-minute mark, but eventually he needs to leave his best talent on the pitch in close matches. Fortunately, Alberg's risk of a short shift is mitigated by the fact that we're only paying $2,900 for him.
At forward, I've picked a pair of players on the same team. Sporting Kansas City plays host to a Real Salt Lake team that could be missing more than half of their starting talent. Most importantly for opposing attacks, RSL will be without Jamison Olave and Kyle Beckerman due to red-card suspensions. Graham Zusi ($5,900) may not be a true forward, but he's still worth the spot in our lineup thanks to his crossing prowess. Even if Brad Davis plays and steals some corners, Zusi is a safe bet. He'll get involved defensively when needed, and has the veteran savvy that can unlock a mix-and-match Real Salt Lake defense. He might not carry the upside that many other players in the price range do, but he also has a far higher floor than most. Also from Kansas City, we'll rely on Dom Dwyer ($6,900) to bring his best. He has been held to just one off-target shot in two separate matches this year. In the other, he had eight shots (four on target) that resulted in two goals! He may appear to be a boom-or-bust play, but this is a nasty rivalry, and Dwyer should thrive. With Zusi and the likely return of Benny Feilhaber, Sporting Kansas City would disappoint if it doesn't tally at least two goals.
The initial draft of this lineup had Ignacio Piatti ($6,300) and Maxi Urruti ($5,300) in place of Mauro Diaz and Dillon Powers. The Piatti "downgrade" also could allow us to upgrade Alberg. I'll likely be playing around with different combinations the whole way until lineup lock thanks to the many potential ways that this lineup could find success.
Devil's Advocate: Our lineup likely will look similar to many. We don't have Giovinco (always worth mentioning). Often, the best lineups feature two elite attacking midfield options, which we passed up to get Dwyer and Zusi instead.
Why We'll Win: While the SKC attackers feel like the obvious choice, some opponents simply might not realize the dire situation for Real Salt Lake this week. Adding those potent options to a great foundation of points may be the most simplistic way to approach this slate, but for good reason ... it will work. Don't overthink this one.
Lineup No. 2: Needs More Spice
It was unintentional, but I still did it. I went into this lineup hoping to build a group of goal scorers who our opponents may overlook this weekend. I ended up with a trio of the most polarizing U.S. National Team players. Long time readers of this column or listeners of the RotoWire Soccer Podcast may be surprised, even shocked, to see Clint Dempsey ($6,800) and Jozy Altidore ($5,100) in my lineup, let alone at the same time. Gyasi Zardes made it in as well despite his "Altidorian" ability to look hopeless with the U.S. squad lately. Let's see how this plays out.
Dempsey remains an interesting and highly inconsistent fantasy performer. While he can disappear for entire matches, he has the ability to put up a dominant scoreline. With the Sounders facing an 0-4 start, and fresh off a rollercoaster ride of international duty, I could see Dempsey stepping up in a big way or fading into the background. The intensity of a must-win game against Guatemala doesn't quite compare to an early season MLS fixture. It's worth noting that Dempsey took nine shots in his last MLS game, though embarrassingly none were on target. I'm not sure what to expect against a good Montreal team this week, but I'm optimistic that Dempsey will provide a good differential for our team.
Jozy Altidore looks ready to return in full for Toronto FC. His strikeforce partner Sebastian Giovinco has surged to nearly double Jozy's price. If Colorado sells out to defend against Giovinco and takes its chances with Jozy (that's what any of us would do, right?) then I can see this being a sneaky good play. Altidore did get a goal for the U.S. team during this break, and few players in the league rely on confidence as much as he does.
Gyasi Zardes and possibly Giovani dos Santos have some large shoes to fill with Robbie Keane set to miss over a month with injury. Zardes is $3,300 cheaper than dos Santos, isn't returning from injury like dos Santos, and grabbed two goals in his prior MLS match. It's worth considering that the Galaxy attack might even look more functional with a faster front line in Keane's absence. The Galaxy are favorites on the road to a tough Vancouver Whitecaps team, and while I don't necessarily agree with that, it speaks to the potential for goals.
I've spent enough time opining about the merits of three frustrating Americans. How are we going to organize the rest of the attack? I'm inclined to continue going for goals rather than playing it safe. Shkelzen Gashi ($5,000) and Ignacio Piatti ($6,300) both have incredibly high potential for their prices. Gashi has been very close to multiple goals already this season after winning the Swiss Golden Boot last year. He can't hang his hat on that for much longer without, you know, actually scoring in MLS but it's still worth mentioning. If he gets moved to the No. 9 role in Colorado's attack, while listed as a DraftKings midfielder, I'm buying in. Piatti disappointed owners in his last outing, scoring just two points against FC Dallas. Hopefully that's enough to make people forget his first two matches where he scored a combined 63 points. Piatti locks into his opponent's weakest areas and relentlessly exploits them. Seattle's defense appears fairly vulnerable from any angle you approach it, which should make Piatti's forays quite fruitful.
Completing our attack are Arturo Alvarez ($3,600) and Brad Davis ($4,800). By fading Dwyer and Zusi but selecting Davis, we are differentiating ourselves from opposing lineups, but still hopefully getting a piece of any joy that the offense has. Alvarez, as mentioned in our first lineup is simply a great value and helps us fit in all of our other talent.
Defensively, I've brought Jordan Allen in once more as the price is too good to overlook. Mekeil Williams enters our lineup at the same price of $3,000 and has reached double-digit points in both of his appearances this season. He's a talented young player that you'd hear a lot more about it he played in a larger market. Lastly, I've gone with Tim Melia ($4,300) in goal and his fullback Amadou Dia ($3,300). We've discussed their matchup with RSL in length, and while I think Salt Lake could sneak a goal in, SKC still has one of the better clean sheets odds in Major League Soccer's opening month.
I highly encourage you to adjust this lineup to suit your risk appetite if my buffet of uncertainty makes your stomach uneasy.
Devil's Advocate: Too. Much. Risk. There's really no need to gamble this heavily on goals the way DraftKings scoring is set up. One could argue that there are both better, and safer plays than Altidore in his price range.
Why We'll Win: Maybe we don't need to roll the dice quite this much, but we have more goal potential that most lineups could dream of. Of the true risks, Dempsey, Altidore, Zardes and Gashi, all have shown that they can have huge outputs and will be under-owned relative to their true potential. All have clear cut motivational reasons to perform well this weekend, too, which helps our cause.
