This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.
Lineup No. 1: Bounce-back Bill Hamid
Bill Hamid has given up three goals in each of his previous two appearances, but he remains far and away the best keeper in Major League Soccer. With Hamid's price at it's lowest point in recent memory, and DC United encountering a Colorado Rapids squad that averages under a goal per game, it's quite difficult to look to another pair of gloves for our daily fantasy lineups. While DC United's three-match losing streak gives slight pause for concern, fantasy MLS often favors talent over form. We'll pair Hamid with a DC defender in Sean Franklin, who has some upside in the attacking game and doubles down on our clean sheet hopes.
This weekend's slate bring an overabundance of pricey attacking options, so we'll need to find some quality values to make everything work. I'm looking to FC Dallas to give the most bang for our buck, with Michael Barrios enjoying a stretch of great soccer and Tesho Akindele remaining criminally under-priced. While Blas Perez and David Texeira provide some serious competition for Akindele's playing time, I think manager Oscar Pareja will run out the in-form Canadian International. Dallas get a juicy fixture against NYC FC, who have allowed 15 goals in their prior six matches. Fabian Castillo is one of my favorite forward plays this weekend, but it's tough to pass up this pair for just $100 more combined.
Let's fill out our remaining forward spots. Obafemi Martins and Robbie Keane headline my MLS Rankings this week. However, with Giovani dos Santos costing $1,700 less, I'll be using the pacier alternative as often as I use the clinical Irishman. The savings will allow us to reach the very edge of the top shelf midfield talents, or acquire a $4,000+ fullback if we want to wander off the beaten path. Martins must travel to San Jose, potentially without Clint Dempsey, and will look to avenge Seattle's two losses to the Earthquakes this season. Few forwards are as dangerous as a healthy Martins, and with San Jose missing World Cup defender Victor Bernardez, I feel comfortable rostering him despite an otherwise formidable San Jose team. Looking to Dos Santos, the fixture could not be much better. A home match against a Montreal side missing star center back Laurent Ciman bodes well for the entire Galaxy attack, but dos Santos is uniquely built to unravel this back four. If Montreal give Keane any extra attention (as most teams unsuccessfully do), I predict the other offensive options will score at least three goals.
If we budget $3,000 for powerful and towering Roman Torres in our final defensive spot, we can afford a midfielder up to $8,300. Steven Gerrard makes a good case for a Los Angeles stack, but I'll be looking to Ethan Finlay of the Columbus Crew. Not having Kei Kamara in such a plus matchup feels downright wrong, and grabbing Finlay can ease our pain. Philadelphia's defense has not been particularly poor, but the fullbacks have come back to earth from their strong stretch earlier in the year. Rather than looking like a positive for the Union, Fabinho and Raymon Gaddis are beginning to look like a liability. Columbus could have their way, even on the road in the City of Brotherly Love, and Finlay presents a more affordable way into their attack than Kamara or Federico Higuain.
Devil's Advocate: Perhaps the winning play is just grabbing three LA Galaxy options, and at the very least are we missing out on Keane? For the home fixture fanatics, DC United on the road will not be the most appealing defensive plays. Roman Torres has a high ceiling due to his goal scoring ability on set pieces, but also a low floor as he's in the center of the defense rather than fullback.
Why We'll Win: Our lineup doesn't have a single weak spot. The FC Dallas bargains have tons of potential against a down-and-out NYC FC side, while our other three attackers are among the league's brightest stars. On a six-game slate with many options to turn to, we've fielded a well-rounded group rather than placing all of our eggs into one basket.
Lineup No. 2: Leaps of Faith
With so many great attacking choices this weekend, winning a GPP may require us to hit on some overlooked players in addition to the heavily owned scoring machines. I'm targeting two players who recently garnered plenty of attention in MLS circles, but seem to be fading from the attentions of the masses. First, Frank Lampard at just $6,000 gives us plenty of talent and ability relative to DraftKings salary. While NYC FC are on the road against a good Dallas team, Lampard and company recently were called out by head coach Jason Kreis who wondered if anyone even cared about representing the team well. This could be a game when the veteran players shockingly respond in a big way, and Lampard loves to put shots on goal. If the Chelsea legend gets a start, in a critical match for NYC FC, he could pay huge dividends for anyone willing to take the risk.
A second under-the-radar player that I love this week is Cubo Torres. Real Salt Lake have not been playing well, and recently got news that top center back Chris Schuler will miss the remainder of the season, while All-Star full back Tony Beltran will also miss out due to suspension. Houston have finally shown a willingness to start Cubo alongside Will Bruin and Giles Barnes, and this could be the game in which their talented designated player breaks out. While Torres has yet to top eight points on DraftKings since joining the Dynamo from Liga MX, his 2014 rookie season with Chivas USA showed that he has a penchant for scoring big goals. $5,000 is an extremely low cost for a player of this caliber, particularly in a game that Houston could control.
Staying in Texas, we'll once again be targeting FC Dallas players. Michael Barrios remains on our radar, and is too good a value to pass up. Further, we'll be adding Fabian Castillo, who received his first senior team call up to the Columbian national team and should return with a hop in his step. He gets one of the weekend's best matchups, though he does command a large salary. One benefit of this for DFS tournaments is that he should be under-owned relative to some of the other popular stars, yet brings just as much potential.
Speaking of star forwards, we'll fill out our remaining forward spot with Robbie Keane. RotoWire's Weekly MLS Rankings unanimously place him ahead of Obafemi Martins and Kei Kamara, and for good reason: Keane brings hat-trick potential each and every time he steps on the field. While Martins is on the road and against a stout defense, Keane is under the bright lights of Los Angeles against an over-hyped Montreal Impact. Kamara is a great play against Philadelphia, but is just as pricey as Keane and simply is not on the same level.
In the back, we'll grab two high-upside yet affordable defenders. Harrison Afful's price has risen, but at $4,000 he's still a value until reaching the Chris Tierney / Tyrone Mears price tier. I can't stop picking the recent Columbus signing, and suggest you don't either. With RSL's defensive absences, Jordan Allen should be in line for significant minutes. Earlier in the season, he was a fantasy darling playing on the attacking wing while being defense eligible. Even if he lines up at fullback in this match, the attacking potential still remains. It would be difficult to find a better value under $3,900 than the US youth national team star.
Lastly, I'm tempted to suggest Bill Hamid in goal once more, but we'll spice things up. Steve Clark pairs well with Afful, despite Columbus' defensive woes. Philadelphia is due for a clunker, and still missing Cristian Maidana, and this could be the match. I also like Stefen Frei in this price range.
Devil's Advocate: It's fairly likely that we get zero clean sheets among our three defensive picks, which is an additional risk we don't need to take on top of Lampard and Torres. Rather than stacking FC Dallas with Castillo and Barrios, it might be wiser to stack Keane with Giovani Dos Santos for the Galaxy. Torres has featured in this article multiple times, without ever paying off.
Why We'll Win: Fortune favors the bold. Our fullbacks are two of the more exciting options on the slate, while Keane and Castillo could end up as the top scorers overall. Everyone will have to hit on their cheap attacking choices, and with Lampard and Torres, we've bet on two players who are definitely capable of producing in MLS.
