This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Welcome back to our weekly DraftKings MLS recommendations. We're going to examine two potential winning lineups for this weekend's slate and dive into the strategic side of lineup construction, while still presenting a bundle of great plays to target. Keep in mind that there are countless ways to build a winning DraftKings lineup, and these are just two approaches that I think could pay off.
Lineup No. 1: Sticking it to the Ci-Man
Lame title, sound strategy. Laurent Ciman will miss Montreal's fixture with DC United due to suspension, and United will be working with a full week's rest rather than Montreal's three days. I already look to Fabian Espindola as a viable attacking option each week, but this week he is primed to be a fixture in all winning lineups. With 10 shots and 18 crosses in his last two matches, it's clear that Espindola has been freed by the arrival of Alvaro Saborio, and I like the pair's chances of finding a goal. Unfortunately, grabbing both would require a sizeable chunk of salary, so I am instead opting for in-form midfielder Nick DeLeon. Few players put in as much work off the ball as DeLeon, and against Montreal that effort should translate directly to scoring opportunities. For my money, Ciman is a clear runner-up to Sebastian Giovinco in the MVP race given how he has turned around the Impact's defensive success. Without him, I fear they'll revert to ineptitude, and am happy to take advantage with my daily fantasy lineups!
Let's turn our attention to defense, where Tally Hall and Luke Boden offer a pricey but safe floor on this slate. Keepers are not easy to pick this week, but the Philadelphia Union must travel to hot and humid Orlando, and they are always a team to pick against. I'm mildly hesitant because I feel like Philly have a good chance to grab a goal, but if I stick with facts rather than inklings, I'd be irresponsible not to suggest Hall. Boden (defender eligible on DraftKings) could very well start on the attacking wing once again, and he has looked plenty capable in that position with a goal and an assist in two appearances. I'd challenge anyone to find a better defensive play for $4,200 given Boden's incredible potential in the Orlando attack. Finally, rather than sticking it to the Ci-man, we're sticking with the Man-sally! The defender paid off last week, grabbing a goal in the 10 tally affair between DC United and Real Salt Lake. RSL are on the road again, against another good team in Vancouver, but a confidence boost for Abdoulie Mansally could pay dividends once more. The $3,500 price tag for the defender is still quite affordable.
To round out our attack, I'm first looking toward Kei Kamara traveling to face the Colorado Rapids. No forward in Major League Soccer combines lightning quick pace with quite the same willingness to shoot as Kamara. He's fired at least five shots in five of his last eight games, and this match should be no different. If Colorado open up their attack against a vulnerable Columbus defense, I think Kamara strikes on the counter early and often.
We now need to find some value for our midfield and flex spots. Graham Zusi presents just that at $6,200. While Sporting Kansas City won't have star striker Dom Dwyer (suspension) leading the charge against Toronto FC, Zusi should join Krisztian Nemeth and Benny Feilhaber to provide plenty of offensive opportunity. Toronto are working on tired legs, and likely won't feature Michael Bradley (calf) once more which would bolster what has been a very vulnerable defense of late. Kansas City are a team you definitely could stack attackers from, but we'll make do with just Zusi, who should grab us a handful of crosses to go along with good goal and assist potential. Finally, I'm banking on Cubo Torres getting his first start for Houston this week. The electric striker has looked lively in his appearances off the bench, and fellow forward Will Bruin is questionable with a knee injury. It's nearly impossible for Cubo not to return value over a full 90 minutes at the bargain price of $5,000.
While we didn't squeeze Giovinco in, you could nearly afford him by trading Kamara and Espindola for Saborio and the Atomic Ant. It's an intriguing alternative if you've been burned by fading Giovinco before.
Devil's Advocate: As we just mentioned, there's no Giovinco in this lineup. Also, Colorado are a deceptively good (read: not talented, but good at turtling) group and Kamara may have an off match traveling to the Rocky Mountains. Passing up on the expensive midfielders is tough to swallow, but this is a slate where the salary cap is suffocating and we must decide between great forwards or midfielders.
Why We'll Win: Espindola and Cubo should be two under-owned gems this weekend. Both have potential for multi-goal efforts and we're pairing them with one of the league's top goal scorers in Kamara. Zusi and DeLeon are riskier than the top midfield players, but I'm confident that at least one will have a good haul for our lineups and that should be all we need to cash. Hall and Boden get a plus matchup and could push us over the top should our opponents try to get fancy with their back line selections.
Lineup No. 2: Mindful of the Midfield
It's a week where the majority of our competition will fade the pricey midfielders in an attempt to get two $9,000+ forward options. If we want to tackle a tournament, it could pay off to approach lineup construction from another angle: paying up for the midfield. If cheap forwards are not a pill you want to swallow, you can probably save a few minutes of reading further, but otherwise give me a chance to persuade you.
I could rest my case on Javier Morales alone. Real Salt Lake's superstar has been as good as anybody not named Giovinco, boasting four shots in each of his previous three matches. He also has two goals and three assists in that span. Facing the league's best defensive midfielder in Matias Laba is cause for slight pause, but he did not give Javi any trouble in their last meeting. Morales ticks all the boxes when looking for scoring potential on DraftKings and is one of the few midfielders I'd feel comfortable paying over $9,000 for.
The second midfield presented quite a dilemma, with both Ignacio Piatti and Ethan Finlay posing interesting options. While Piatti is more similar to Morales in stat sheet stuffing potential, Finlay's natural connection with Kei Kamara ended up winning my vote. I still am not buying Colorado's defense and like the pressure Columbus are putting on themselves to break a string of disappointing performances. Finlay has four goals and two assists in the past six starts, and he could very well reward those of us who want to pay up for great midfield talent this week.
Before finding our discount attackers, we need to figure out exactly how much we can spend. Therefore, let's fill in our defense. Tyler Deric presents an intriguing play having allowed only one goal over 180 minutes against two of the league's best attacks. If Los Angeles and Kansas City can only notch one goal against Deric, how likely are San Jose to light up the scoreboard on the road? While cheaper keepers exist this week, none of them inspire much confidence. As for defenders, I look once again to Luke Boden. Playing on the attacking wing is simply too good to ignore, and I'd argue he should be the highest priced defender on the slate. Instead, he has more than 15 players ahead of him. To save some money, I'll invest in newly signed Ghanaian Harrison Afful. Should he get the start for a Columbus Crew sans Waylon Francis (suspension), I think he could net us a nice return for just $3,100. If we like Kamara and Finlay this week, it shouldn't be hard to invest in one of their wing backs.
We're left with just over $20,000 for our two forward spots and the flex position. Despite leaving Giovinco and Kamara on the board for this lineup, I can't dismiss Espindola. He could easily be the slate's highest scoring player against the Ciman-less Montreal Impact. Once again, pivoting to a cheaper Saborio could open up some better options to accompany our star midfield, but I want the high ceiling that Espindola brings.
Two players are left that make this entire lineup possible: Fernando Aristeguieta and Kevin Doyle. At $4,700 and $6,200, respectively, they bring a clinical finishing pedigree that is only matched by Cubo Torres in this price range. Columbus are really struggling along the back line this season, and Doyle's Colorado Rapids side could easily turn this into a two-way scoring affair. The Irishman carries two goals in four fairly tough matches into this match. Aristeguieta came on as a substitute last week for the Philadelphia Union and was his fiery self. The angry ginger beard should be quite a handful for an equally temperamental Aurelien Collin when the two teams face off in Orlando this weekend. Philadelphia could also get a boost from new signing Tranquillo Barnetta who brings a wealth of European experience and class to a team that desperately could use it. With C.J. Sapong, Cristian Maidana, and the two aforementioned talents, the Union now have the potential to surprise us in any given week.
If you find a way to grab some extra salary, upgrading Aristeguieta to Cubo Torres is not a bad idea, nor is a switch from Finlay to Piatti. Ultimately, this lineup pins its hopes on the cheap forwards grabbing a goal and the rest of the lineup simply doing what they should. That's not a bad gamble when much of our competition will likely be relying on some cheap midfielders to pick up the slack instead.
Devil's Advocate: Even if this lineup brings a high ceiling, it also carries a very low floor. By investing in the midfield so heavily, we risk missing out on some top performances from expensive forwards, while our rolls of the dice could fall flat on their face. If Finlay has a good game, shouldn't Kamara also flourish? Further, four of our five attacking options are on the road, which doesn't inspire the confidence necessary to enter a bold group like this into a tournament.
Why We'll Win: Morales and Finlay have just as much scoring potential as nearly any forward on the slate. Provided Espindola lives up to his potential, and Doyle or Aristeguieta can steal a goal, we should be comfortably near the top of our contests. Deric brings a high save potential, without much risk against San Jose, and Boden is essentially an extra attacker playing in our defensive spot.
