Fantasy Soccer Advice

2022 MLS Fantasy Round 18 Positional Rankings

Heineken Rivalry Week is in full swing, and with 22 teams playing twice, a fantasy points bonanza could be in order.

A pivotal Round 18 of MLS Fantasy kicks off on Tuesday in Texas with Austin FC hosting Houston Dynamo FC (9 pm ET | UniMas, TUDN, Twitter). Round 18 also marks the final week of the Fantasy Champions League Qualifier #3, so letā€™s dive right in and take a closer look at the top plays and values at each position.

Teams NOT on a DGW: CLT, LAFC, MTL, NE, POR, RBNY

Get more advice on the MLS Fantasy Insider Round 18 preview podcast

Goalkeepers

Andre Blake has kept consecutive clean sheets after shutting out D.C. United in Round 17. Heā€™s tied with Sean Johnson for the most clean sheets in MLS (8), and with Philadelphia Union firing on all cylinders, heā€™s a sound DGW GK with two games incoming.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Andre Blake
PHI
vs. MIA, vs. NE
$10.1
2. William Yarbrough
COL
vs. ORL, vs. LA
$7.5
3. Joe Willis
NSH
vs. SEA, vs. LAFC
$6.8
4. Gabriel Slonina
CHI
vs. TOR, vs. SEA
$7.4
5. Jonathan Bond
LA
vs. SJ, vs. COL
$8.3
Value Goalkeepers
Value Goalkeepers
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Dayne St. Clair
MIN
vs. SKC, vs. DC
$6.6
2. Rocco Rios Novo
ATL
vs. RSL, vs. ORL
$5.7
3. Drake Callender
MIA
vs. PHI, vs. CLT
$6.2

Defenders

Kai Wagner shined bright in Round 17, notching a hat trick of assists and racking up 18 fantasy points in the process. He created five chances in the Unionā€™s 7-0 thumping of D.C. United, and with two matches on the schedule, heā€™s once again locked in as an elite option in Round 18.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Kai Wagner
PHI
at MIA, vs. NE
$11.3
2. Lalas Abubakar
COL
vs. ORL, vs. LA
$10.3
3. Walker Zimmerman
NSH
vs. SEA, vs. LAFC
$7.1
4. Jack Elliott
PHI
at MIA, vs. NE
$10.4
5. Alan Franco
ATL
vs. RSL, vs. ORL
$9.0
6. Rafael Czichos
CHI
vs. TOR, vs. SEA
$9.0
7. Jakob Glesnes
PHI
at MIA, vs. NE
$9.8
8. Justen Glad
RSL
at ATL, vs. SKC
$10.9
9. Julian Araujo
LA
vs. SJ, at CLT
$10.3
10. Julian Gressel
DC
vs. CLB, at MIN
$8.6
Value Defenders
Value Defenders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Kemar Lawrence
MIN
vs. SKC, vs. DC
$5.8
2. Jasper Loeffelsend
RSL
at ATL, vs. SKC
$5.7
3. DJ Taylor
MIN
vs. SKC, vs. DC
$5.8

Midfielders

Emanuel Reynoso has been putting up video game-esque numbers over the last several rounds, bagging five goals and adding two assists over the last five matches. He has arguably the most favorable schedule of all DGW midfielders and heā€™ll be a popular captain pick with a pair of juicy home matchups versus Sporting KC and D.C. United.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Emanuel Reynoso
MIN
vs. SKC, vs. DC
$11.8
2. Hany Mukhtar
NSH
vs. SEA, vs. LAFC
$13.0
3. Sebastian Driussi
ATX
vs. HOU, at DAL
$11.1
4. Lucas Zelarayan
CLB
at DC, vs. CIN
$10.1
5. Thiago Almada
ATL
vs. RSL, vs. ORL
$10.1
6. Xherdan Shaqiri
CHI
vs. TOR, vs. SEA
$10.5
7. Jamiro Monteiro
SJ
at LA, vs. HOU
$11.5
8. Marcelino Moreno
ATL
vs. RSL, vs. ORL
$8.4
9. Nicolas Lodeiro
SEA
at NSH, at CHI
$10.9
10. Santiago Rodriguez
NYC
at DAL, at RBNY
$10.0
11. Paul Arriola
DAL
vs. NYC, vs. ATX
$10.4
12. Chris Mueller
CHI
vs. TOR, vs. SEA
$8.2
13. Mauricio Pereyra
ORL
at COL, at ATL
$11.4
14. Jonathan Osorio
TOR
at CHI, at MTL
$9.8
15. Diego Fagundez
ATX
vs. HOU, at DAL
$8.3
16. Robin Lod
MIN
vs. SKC, vs. DC
$8.8
17. Randall Leal
NSH
vs. SEA, vs. LAFC
$8.9
18. Mark Delgado
LA
vs. SJ, at COL
$9.5
19. Daniel Gazdag
PHI
at MIA, vs. NE
$9.9
20. Rayan Raveloson
LA
vs. SJ, at COL
$8.4
Value Midfielders
Value Midfielders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Bryan Acosta
COL
vs. ORL, vs. LA
$6.1
2. Ethan Finlay
ATX
vs. HOU, at DAL
$5.5
3. Franco Fragapane
MIN
vs. SKC, vs. DC
$5.8

Forwards

After firing blanks in Round 17ā€™s 3-0 loss to Austin FC, Josef Martinez is in a good bounce-back spot with attractive home matches against Real Salt Lake and Orlando City SC.

Prior to last weekā€™s goose egg, Martinez scored a goal in three of his last four outings. With Luiz Araujo suspended for the first match of the DGW, we can expect Josef to be leaned on heavily for attacking firepower.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Josef Martinez
ATL
vs. RSL, vs. ORL
$10.0
2. Jesus Ferreira
DAL
vs. NYC, vs. ATX
$9.6
3. Taxi Fountas
DC
vs. CLB, at MIN
$11.3
4. Jefferson Savarino
RSL
at ATL, vs. SKC
$10.4
5. Brenner
CIN
vs. VAN, at CLB
$8.0
6. Chicharito
LA
vs. SJ, at COL
$8.0
7. Diego Rubio
COL
vs. ORL, vs. LA
$10.1
8. Julian Carranza
PHI
at MIA, vs. NE
$8.5
9. Brandon Vazquez
CIN
vs. VAN, at CLB
$9.0
10. Talles Magno
NYC
at DAL, at RBNY
$10.3
Value Forwards
Value Forwards
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Luis Amarilla
MIN
vs. SKC, vs. DC
$6.0
2. Dejan Joveljic
LA
vs. SJ, at COL
$6.4
3. Benji Kikanovic
SJ
at LA, vs. HOU
$4.0
Captain
Captain
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Emanuel Reynoso
MIN
vs. SKC, vs. DC
$11.8
2. Hany Mukhtar
NSH
vs. SEA, vs. LAFC
$13.0
3. Josef Martinez
ATL
vs. RSL, vs. ORL
$10.0

MLS Fantasy Weekly Winner

Congratulations to MLS Fantasy Manager of the Week, Bryon McElwee! The Yellow Soccer Team cashed in on 54 points from a Forward trio of Carlos Vela Ā©, Taty Castellanos and Julian Carranza. Coach McElwee pockets a $150 MLSstore.com gift card for winning the Week 17 prize.

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