This article is part of our Daily Fantasy Soccer Cheat Sheet series.
MATCHES (EDT)
6:00 p.m: Cruz Azul v. Santos Laguna
8:00 p.m: Tigres v. Pachuca
8:00 p.m: Monarcas v. Chiapas
8:06 p.m: Leon v. Queretaro
10:00 p.m: Guadalajara v. Atlas
10:00 p.m: Necaxa v. Club Tijuana
ODDS REPORT
PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS
GOALKEEPER
Nahuel Guzman, TIG vs. PCH ($4,900): The goalkeeper position reminds me a lot of the pitcher position in baseball. In tournaments, the winning lineup usually contains a low-owned play that many people glossed over in their research, but in cash games it will pay to be safe 90 percent of the time. Guzman is as safe as it can get, literally, as he has yet to concede through five weeks of play. Tigres are boring their opponents to death, and while Pachuca looks like a tough matchup on paper their league standing covers up many deficiencies. They have benefited greatly from an easy schedule to open the tournament, and were blanked 2-0 on the road against Toluca in their only decent test. Why are we still talking about this? Don't get cute in cash games this weekend.
DEFENDER
John Stefan Medina, PCH at TIG ($4,400): After everything I've said about Pachuca being in for a struggle against Tigres, I still cannot resist going back to the well to have a look at Medina. There are a lot of high priced defenders that I am just not interested in, but Medina bounced back nicely last week and I feel like he is still just way too cheap for his ceiling. That is not to say, however, that his floor suffers. He is still very defensively involved and can pile up statistics quickly, while taking the odd shot and cross. Note that while Tigres have yet to concede, they aren't exactly an offensive threat, as they have scored just four goals through the first five matches. The clean sheet bonus is still in play.
Facundo Erpen, MOR vs. CHI ($3,200): There may be cheaper defenders available when the lineups come out, but Erpen is the cheapest sure thing you are going to find. He is a strong center back that centers his DraftKings production around the defensive statistics, and his ability to put up a good point-per-dollar game against America bodes well for what should be a shutdown day against Chiapas. Not much gets by him, and the clean sheet bonus would be just icing on the cake.
MIDFIELDER
Luis Montes, LEO vs. QUE ($7,500): I'll be honest, every week there are one or two matchups that just leave me puzzled and this time it is Club Leon at home facing Queretaro FC. Leon was such a strong club last year and remained relatively unchanged but now sits at the bottom of the league. They haven't put up much of a fight since the opening week's 5-1 loss to Pachuca, but Montes is starting to become fantasy relevant. He is filling the gap left by the unexplainable production drop by Elias Hernandez (who actually saw a price increase after another miserable performance) and littered the stat sheet, putting up 17 DraftKings points in spite of a yellow card. Hopefully Leon will use this home match to get back on track, so targeting a cheaper midfielder who can cross and put shots on net is the play.
Neri Cardozo, QUE at LEO ($6,600): Now that I have admitted there is almost no outcome of this Leon/Queretaro match that would surprise me, I will present the counter argument. If you're more sold on the QFC side of this coin, then by all means fade Montes and roll with Cardozo at a $900 savings; you are getting the same exact player, just in a different jersey. Cardozo is good for crosses and a few shots (granted, some of them from comical range), but he will hit the target and even challenge for the ball to grab some interceptions. This score could be 0-0, 5-0, 2-5, etc. The more I talk about this match, the more I like getting some exposure to both sides...
Carlos Adrian Morales, MOR vs. CHI ($4,600): Morales is not the most exciting option in the midfield by any means, but against Chiapas, this is about playing the market. This price is just way too cheap for a player who contributes on both sides of the ball and is going to dominate the middle of the field. Vegas might not agree with me but I am not letting that scare me off my love affair with Morelia. Hey, let's not forget Morelia are having a great year and it has been nine months since a team other than Monterrey beat them at home in league play.
FORWARD
Jefferson Cuero, MOR vs. CHI ($4,500): If there is one word (that's safe for work) that can describe me, it's predictable. My favorite Liga MX move is to find the cheapest team that I expect to have a good week and run out mini-stacks, and Morelia is my go-to this slate. In fact, Morelia tops my list of teams with the highest winning percentage as they get the cake matchup to end all: Chiapas on the road. Cuero is the perfect fit in my "high-floor" forward system, as he has the goal-scoring ability to hang with anyone, but he also wins tackles and draws fouls to go along with his crosses. It'll take a tough team to shut him down, and Chiapas is not that team.
Luis Gallegos, NEC vs. TIJ ($4,900): Call me crazy, but I am still a believer in Necaxa. I don't know if it's because I love Candido Ramirez so much, or if I have a soft spot for recent promotions, but I am all in on Necaxa this week. I actually have them ranked second-most likely to get the win behind Morelia, and they will need Gallegos firing on all cylinders to make this happen. Yes, winless Necaxa, 16th in the table, are my ace in the hole against the league-leading Xolos, however, I am confident that Tijuana has built their early advantage on smoke and mirrors. At the time of writing this I have just finished watching Tijuana grab an, erm, we'll call it 'mildly uninteresting' (read: boring, terrible, uninspired) draw against Lobos BUAP in the Copa Mexico, and it is clear that it's only a matter of time before someone figures them out. Necaxa have been crafty and playing high-IQ soccer, but they need to get the engines going and fill the net. Gallegos has the motivation, and if all else fails, a heck of a floor for a sub-$5k midfielder.
Alonso Escoboza, CHI at MOR ($6,400): Here is a bonus play because I have been way too hard on Chiapas all season, and they do have one player who deserves praise. 17 crosses last match requires no analysis, just play him.
