Sorare Deke's Diamonds for MLS Week 7: Austin FC Defensive Stack

Written by

Deke Mathews

Published on April 3, 2025

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It was a week to forget for my top pick Kelvin Yeboah. In monsoon-like conditions, he accumulated -14.2 AA, missing two big chances. The rest of the picks were also duds, as Carlos Coronel was the only player to eclipse 50 SO5 points. Kai Wagner's inclusion on the availability report with an abdominal issue ruined my gameweek, but fortunately, everyone gets a fresh start in Week 7.

Note: Player recommendations are not financial advice; I may or may not own these players in my Sorare gallery. I play under the username "SorareDeke" on Sorare.

Sorare GW 68 // MLS Week 7

Let's start this game week by using the RotoWire Cheatsheets to see the best matchups with win odds highlighted below. For access to the sheets, try a 48-hour trial.

Columbus Crew 68.11% vs. CF Montreal
Inter Miami 65.80% vs. Toronto FC
FC Cincinnati 61.86% vs. New England
New York Red Bulls 56.44% vs. Chicago Fire
Atlanta United 56.21% vs. FC Dallas

Note: Prices are for in-season limited cards as of Thursday, April 3. The scarcities are Limited (/1000), Rare (/100), Super Rare (/10), and Unique (1/1).

Optimal Plays

GOALKEEPERS

Brad Stuver (ATX) $34.82 vs. Portland

Austin has significantly improved as a team this season. Last season, Stuver was left out to dry and forced to try and save numerous high-quality scoring opportunities. Austin ranks first in MLS this season with 4.4 xGA through six matches. Stuver has only allowed three goals on 16 shots on target, trailing only St. Louis City for the best save percentage in MLS (81.3%).

This matchup is intriguing as Portland is starting to click offensively, scoring three goals in back-to-back matches. These teams have already played this season with Portland winning the reverse fixture 1-0. Stuver has four straight matches with 10 or more AA and has one of the safer floors in MLS. Portland's uptick offensively could provide a peak scoring output if Stuver keeps a clean sheet (nearly 35-percent implied odds).

Other Options: Kristijan Kahlina (CLT) $61.87 vs. Nashville; Patrick Schulte (CLB) $47.90 vs. Montreal; CJ Dos Santos (SD) $34.99 vs. Seattle; Roman Celentano (CIN) $30.68 vs. New England; Carlos Coronel (RBNY) $29.16 vs. Chicago; Matt Freese (NYC) $26.01 vs. Minnesota; Rafael Cabral (RSL) $18.30 vs. LA Galaxy; Daniel (SJ) $17.94 vs. DC; Oscar Ustari (MIA) $16.91 vs. Toronto; Brad Guzan (ATL) $16.29 vs. Dallas; John Pulskamp (SKC) $9.15 vs. St. Louis*

*Yuck, but new manager bump against an injury-ridden St. Louis City team that has struggled to score.

DEFENDERS

Guilherme Biro (ATX) $14.14 vs. Portland

One of Austin's improvements this season is Biro's play at left-back. Through six matches, he's averaging 26.07 AA.

Biro's start to the season courtesy of SorareData.

When viable, I like playing a GK/DF combo, and the upside play this gameweek would be to pair Biro with Stuver. Like Stuver, Biro has a relatively safe floor (his worst outing has been a score of 45.5 SO5 points) and a solid ceiling if he can tally a decisive.

Other Options: Yevgen Cheberko (CLB) $46.33 vs. Montreal; Jordi Alba (MIA) $35.12 vs. Toronto; Henry Kessler (STL) $20.60 at Sporting KC; George Campbell (MTL) $15.87 at Columbus; Christopher McVey (SD) $12.67 vs. Seattle; Adilson Malanda (CLT) $11.44 vs. Nashville; Rodrigues (SJ) $9.28 vs. DC; Noah Eile (RBNY) $8.33 vs. Chicago; Nathan Harriel (PHI) $6.42 vs. Orlando; Lukas Engel (CIN) $5.94 vs. New England; Brendan Hines-Ike (ATX) $5.10 vs. Portland; Justen Glad (RSL) $3.22 vs. LA Galaxy; Maximiliano Falcon (MIA) $3.03 vs. Toronto

MIDFIELDERS

Dylan Chambost (CLB) $12.57 vs. Montreal

Chambost is still looking for his first decisive of the season through eight matches in all competitions, and there have been positive signs pointing towards one coming soon. The matchup is favorable, as he has a 64-percent set-piece share and ranks in the 89th percentile for expected assisted goals (xAG). Over the last 365 days amongst midfielders, Chambost ranks in the 98th percentile with 0.33 assists per 90, according to FBRef. Even if he doesn't get a decisive, Chambost has three 25-plus AA games this season.

Other Options: Evander (CIN) $121 vs. New England*; Jeppe Tverskov (SD) $56.65 vs. Seattle; Emil Forsberg (RBNY) $28.63 vs. Chicago; Luciano Acosta (DAL) $28.49 at Atlanta; Marcel Hartel (STL) $26.13 at Sporting KC; Sergio Busquets (MIA) $20.70 vs. Toronto; Quinn Sullivan (PHI) $19.60 vs. Orlando; Cristian Espinoza (SJ) $18.80 vs. DC; Miguel Almiron (ATL) $18.71 (Newcastle MF mints) vs. Dallas; Pep Biel (CLT) $18.28 vs. Nashville; Aleksey Miranchuk (ATL) $17.00 vs. Dallas; Daniel Gazdag (PHI) $13.68 vs. Orlando; Owen Wolff (ATX) $9.18 vs. Portland; Pavel Bucha (CIN) $4.28 vs. New England; Diogo Goncalves (RSL) $4.22 vs. LA Galaxy; Diego Luna (RSL) $3.90 vs. LA Galaxy; Manu Garcia (SKC) $2.85 vs. St. Louis; Maximiliano Moralez (NYC) $2.74 vs. Minnesota

*Risky as he's dealing with a knock, but in a "god spot."

FORWARDS

Kevin Denkey (CIN) $14.97/$22.27 vs. New England

While Denkey doesn't provide a ton of AA, he's in a prime position to score 65 or more SO5 points. Denkey has implied goal-scoring odds of 47.62%, which is good for fourth-best on the slate. Denkey only has two shots on target from open play, hitting the target at a 25-percent clip. His shots-on-target career percentage is 39 with 1.33 SoT/90. He should have some positive regression to the mean as his MLS sample size increases, and I like his chances to add to his goal tally this weekend at TQL Stadium against New England.

Other Options: Martin Ojeda (ORL) $42.65 at Philadelphia; Anders Dreyer (SD) $40.09 vs. Seattle; Luis Suarez (MIA) $35.20 vs. Toronto; Emmanuel Latte Lath (ATL) $30.93 vs. Dallas; Diego Rossi (CLB) $30.08 vs. Montreal; Christian Benteke (DC) $28.84 at San Jose; Luca Orellano (CIN) $15.27 vs. New England; Petar Musa (DAL) $13.54 at Atlanta; Alonso Martinez (NYC) $12.65 vs. Minnesota; Cristian Arango (SJ) $10.51 vs. DC; Max Arfsten (CLB) $6.20 vs. Montreal; Tai Baribo (PHI) $5.67 vs. Orlando; David Martinez (LAFC) $4.99 at Houston; Myrto Uzuni (ATX) $4.96 vs. Portland; Jacen Russell-Rowe (CLB) $4.10 vs. Montreal; Jayden Nelson (VAN) $3.92 vs. Colorado; Josef Martinez (SJ) $3.35 vs. DC

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Deke Mathews plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: dm734593.