This article is part of our The Armband series.
If you thought there was too big of a break between recent gameweeks, MLS has you covered. After a full weekend of matches, there is only one open day between Weeks 24 and 25. Los Angeles and Colorado are the unfortunate teams with the quick turnaround, though the Galaxy at least don't have to travel.
Of course, that means a double gameweek is upon us, with the main question being if Zlatan Ibrahimovic can start both matches. He got more than a week of rest prior to the Minnesota game, but only two full days of rest for a soon-to-be 37-year-old is pushing it. The Galaxy (v. COL, at SEA) are one of six sides with two matches this week, so there are more options to consider for the armband. The worst scenario would be sitting against Colorado and then starting in Seattle.
Colorado, per usual, is not one of the teams to back with two matches against Los Angeles teams. Real Salt Lake (at LAFC, at HOU) are equally undesirable with two difficult road trips. More fantasy bosses will be inclined to turn to Portland even though they travel to D.C. and Kansas City. Diego Valeri is the only one in the discussion, scoring at least 12 fantasy points in five of his last seven starts, though only one of those performances came on the road. D.C. may not know how to play defense, but a cross-country trip for the Timbers will be difficult to overcome on a short week. Valeri hasn't missed a match this season, so that keeps him in the conversation.
D.C. United are in a much better situation with that home game against Portland and then against New England on the weekend. A few players have taken a backseat since Wayne Rooney joined the squad, but Luciano Acosta is not one of them with his most recent hat trick, as well as assists in the previous two matches. He's also creating a good number of chances, making 10 fantasy points a good floor for this gameweek. Rooney isn't far off, though similar to Ibrahimovic, it's a wonder if he can start both matches despite being four years younger. That's about it for United's captain outlook because Yamil Asad hasn't produced as much since Rooney came into the squad.
The last and best team to back this week is LA FC with home matches against Real Salt Lake and Colorado. Those two have combined for some of the worst road numbers in the league: two wins, four draws and 15 losses to go with 15 goals scored and 44 allowed. Even better is that Carlos Vela only played 32 minutes off the bench Saturday, making him more likely to start both of these games. Vela should be the most popular captain play, with 10 fantasy points from two matches his absolute minimum. Throw in a goal and a couple assists and he'll pass 20. I'm not as confident in anyone else, but Benny Feilhaber has the same floor as Vela. Laurent Ciman will be a good defender to back, but he's not guaranteed to play both matches. Due to the floors of guys like Vela and Feilhaber, it'd be hard to captain a defender this week.
With six teams having two matches, there's no reason to look elsewhere for the armband. Nicolas Lodeiro will probably reach double-digit fantasy points again, but he's harder to trust with only one match. The same goes for Josef Martinez at home against Columbus. Remember, 180 possible minutes is more than 90.
