Fantasy MLS: Saturday Cheat Sheet

As the MLS regular season starts to wind down, we can begin diving more and more into playoff implications. This week is all about taking care of business.

With an impending road trip, D.C. United need three points at home against the lowly Chicago Fire if they want to stay comfortably ahead of Orlando City and Columbus Crew for the final playoff spot in the East. Columbus, Philadelphia and Los Angeles all have home fixtures they should expect to win pretty easily, too. It's also another "Rivalry Week" in Major League Soccer, though we only have two true fixtures filled with recent histories of distaste. Toronto FC have already been crowned the Eastern Conference champions by many pundits and will look to dispatch a sluggish and out of sorts Montreal Impact. Meanwhile, FC Dallas are the Supporters Shield favorites for now, but they must get three points in Houston if they want to keep their claim as the league's top team. Anything can happen in this league, but more so than usual, I think we can count on these teams getting the job done.

MATCHES (EDT)

7:00 p.m: Philadelphia Union v. Sporting KC
7:00 p.m: D.C. United v. Chicago Fire
7:30 p.m: Columbus Crew v. San Jose Earthquakes
7:30 p.m: Toronto FC v. Montreal Impact
9:00 p.m: Houston Dynamo v. FC Dallas
10:30 p.m: Los Angeles Galaxy v. Vancouver Whitecaps

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Philadelphia Union: Tranquillo Barnetta
Sporting KC: Graham Zusi
D.C. United: Lloyd Sam
Chicago Fire: John Goossens
Columbus Crew: Federico Higuain
San Jose Earthquakes: Simon Dawkins, Anibal Godoy, Alberto Quintero
Toronto FC: Sebastian Giovinco
Montreal Impact: Ambroise Oyongo
Houston Dynamo: Cristian Maidana
FC Dallas: Mauro Diaz
Los Angeles Galaxy: Steven Gerrard
Vancouver Whitecaps: Cristian Techera

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

Steve Clark, CLB v. SJE: Clark's opponent this week, San Jose, are a dreadful 1-6-5 on the road. Shockingly, they've managed to grab a goal per game on average in their 12 away matches, but I think they're poised for a zero this round. Their dysfunctional attack was on display against New England midweek, and they have a run of sub-par performances against lacking defenses. While they lob enough balls into the box to get a few weeks shots on target, and Columbus are certainly good at allowing them, I think that spells good news for Clark's save totals and thus, our fantasy points. Following their first win since May (!) this team will feel fortunate to still have playoff hopes and needs to bring another complete performance to keep their heads above water.

Chris Seitz, FCD at HOU ($4,500): This isn't a week to take a cheap keeper, unless you don't trust D.C. United's attack and want to roll the dice with Sean Johnson ($3,500). Seitz faces a Houston Dynamo team that are just flat out bad. They have no idea what to do in attack, and while they're incorporating more exciting attackers than Will Bruin, they aren't world-beaters that can avoid growing pains. Apparently, Houston thinks 0-0 and 1-1 draws when they have no hope at the playoffs will win their fans over, instead of opening up and at least trying to play positive soccer. On the flip side, FC Dallas are eyeing multiple pieces of silverware this season, including Supporters Shield and U.S. Open Cup. They played midweek in CONCACAF Champions League and are in good position to advance there as well. They're simply in a different class than their longtime rival in Houston and Seitz delivers a safe floor in net at a great price.

DEFENDER

Fabinho, PHI v. SKC ($5,500): Fabinho has been heating up in the past few weeks, looking even more lively than usual. With a rock solid midfield, the Union fullbacks aren't afraid to get up the field which was evident last week with Keegan Rosenberry's outstanding team goal. The rookie is $200 cheaper, but I'm siding with Fabinho, who has proven time and again that he's one of the more dangerous fullback in attack. The Union have played quite well at home this season, and even if Fabinho is quiet offensively, he'll collect some peripheral points against a Sporting side that don't boast a tremendous attack.

Maynor Figueroa, FCD at HOU ($4,400): We detailed Houston's struggles offensively when discussing Seitz, so naturally we should consider the Dallas defenders. We should also recognize Figueroa's attacking potential, though. In particular, Figueroa hasn't been shy in CONCACAF Champions League action, displaying a laser of a shot from the top of the box a few weeks ago. Figueroa's bread and butter is picking up defensive points, though, which he is sure to do plenty of against the Dynamo. He did play the full 90 minutes midweek at centerback, so you may want to budget for Ryan Hollingshead ($4,900) and be able to pivot downward.

Sean Franklin, DCU v. CHI ($3,800): Taylor Kemp comes at a pretty prohibitive price these days, but if we like the United defense and want some crosses, Franklin isn't a bad alternative. While the upside is far less, Franklin is still 12th among defenders in crosses this season. Chicago have a tendency to bunker on the road, whether it's with four in the back or five, which should allow D.C. United to be on the front foot and throw some balls into the box. Clean sheet points are certainly in play as well, and without many other viable fullback options below $4,000, Franklin makes for a fantastic lineup choice in both cash games and paired with Bill Hamid in GPPs.

MIDFIELDER

Mauro Diaz, FCD at HOU ($9,900): It's been a while since Diaz rewarded fantasy owners with a big match, and his DraftKings box score only shows games of six and eight points. I'm hoping this leads to people grasping at other options. Diaz is hands down the top midfielder in MLS when it comes to creating scoring chances for teammates, and he isn't too shabby at getting himself some dangerous shots as well. Houston are gaining a reputation as a team you don't want to play attackers against, but that's simply not going to hold true for the rest of the season. Talented offenses will handle the Dynamo with ease, and Diaz has proven capable of dismantling any set of players thrown his way. In my mind, Diaz is in a tier of his own among this week's midfielders, even for those who enjoy using Ignacio Piatti.

Justin Meram, CLB v. SJE ($6,100): People tend to dismiss my love for Meram, since he notably won me a major GPP before. That's fair, but we also need to consider just how well he plays against poor teams. A do-it-all winger, Meram grabs points defensively and almost always creates two or three dangerous chances out of nowhere. He had five crosses and four interceptions midweek, a solid example of his safe floor. With Federico Higuain back in the fold, and San Jose struggling, I think this is a prime matchup for Meram and the Columbus attack. The Earthquakes played to a 0-0 draw against New England midweek and have a quick turnaround to get to Columbus. Meanwhile, the Crew will be highly motivated to get three points and jump back into the playoff race. Meram may be the perfect way to get affordable exposure to a promising home favorite.

Sebastian Lletget, LAG v. VAN ($5,500): Speaking of promising home favorites, the Galaxy are the biggest of the day. Vancouver Whitecaps are a struggling side, having lost four straight and allowing two goals in each. Los Angeles may have a full-fledged attacking group to take them on, including Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard, Gyasi Zardes and Giovani dos Santos. If you want some cheap exposure to the attack, though, Lletget is the play. Much like Meram, he does the defensive work and also endlessly finds himself in dangerous spots offensively. When the Galaxy attack does well, Lletget follows. Bruce Arena's side haven't won in five matches, but I think that trend gets upended this week, and I'll be considering multiple Galaxy attackers. For those also using Giovinco, that means Lletget may need to be one of the pair.

FORWARD

Sebastian Giovinco, TFC v. MTL ($14,500): More than most weeks, I'm thrilled to be paying $14,500 for Giovinco this week. Toronto FC are looking better and better, and Montreal are looking worse and worse. Giovinco appears unstoppable now that he has a little bit of help in the attack and may get some extra motivation to dominate against TFC's main rival and Didier Drogba. For those arguing Piatti deserves MVP, I think Seba has a strong message to send you this week. Admittedly, it will be difficult to fit the salary into your lineup when so few value plays are apparent before potential lineup surprises, but I think Toronto's superstar is essential this weekend and recommend finding a way to squeeze him in.

Dom Dwyer, SKC at PHI ($7,900): Dwyer appears in this column for the second straight week, and it's largely due to Philadelphia's shaky backline. Sometimes they look pretty good. More often, they look like the component that will keep the Union from being MLS Cup Champions. While I'm leaning as strongly towards the home teams (apart from FC Dallas) as I ever do, I can't help but feel like Dwyer could be an important GPP differential among all of the chalk that is certain to be thrown about. More importantly, Dwyer has two-goal upside that few sub-$8,000 players can match. It's important to note that Sporting Kansas City will be fresher than the Union, too. While Dwyer has a penchant for delivering disappointing outings, I think he at least gives us a handful of shots this week and we've seen how dangerous those can be.

Tesho Akindele, FCD at HOU ($5,000): I'm still set on having multiple FC Dallas attackers, and while that ideally is a $3,800 Getterson, I think there's a better chance it's Tesho. He's been performing nearly every time Oscar Pareja calls upon him, whether it's in a start or off the bench, and he has all of the tools to take on the Houston defense. I'd shy away from Akindele in cash games, but he makes for a juicy stacking option alongside Mauro Diaz and at a discount to a $5,700 Michael Barrios. Tosaint Ricketts ($4,400) will be a popular pair with Sebastian Giovinco, but paying $600 more for Akindele may be a sneaky and smart pivot play.