Fantasy Soccer Advice

MLS Fantasy Week 16 positional rankings and gaming advice

Giakoumakis fantast

MLS Fantasy

Midweek Major League Soccer kicks off Week 16 of MLS Fantasy, with LAFC and Atlanta United taking center stage. As the only two teams playing twice this week, fantasy managers are tasked with a tough decision ā€“ load up on DGW potential, or stick to the go-to single-game week options. My advice is to go with a healthy mix of both. Iā€™m planning to max out my Atlanta and LAFC slots with players that are likely to see action in both matches ā€“ capitalizing on the opportunity to pile up fantasy points. Letā€™s dive right in and look at the top options and values at each position.

Get more advice on the _MLS Fantasy Insider Round 16 preview_ podcast

Teams on a DGW: ATL, LAFC

Teams on a BYE: RBNY

NOTE: The suspended DALvSTL match from Round 11 will not count towards MLS Fantasy when the match resumes on Wednesday.

Goalkeepers

Barring rotation, John McCarthy and Brad Guzan will have two swipes at keeping a clean sheet this week. With field players looking more enticing to burn our DGW slots on, Iā€™m looking at Djordje Petrovic to make it back-to-back shutouts. Heā€™s up against an Inter Miami side that are in dire need of an attacking boost after scoring just one goal across their last three matches.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. John McCarthy 
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$7.8
2. Brad Guzan 
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$6.4
3. Djordje Petrovic 
NE
vs. MIA
$9.3
4. Roman BĆ¼rki
STL
vs. LA
$9.2
5. Pedro Gallese 
ORL
vs. COL
$7.0
Value Goalkeepers
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Gavin Beavers 
RSL
vs. NYC
$4.0
2. Kendall McIntosh 
SKC
vs. ATX
$4.3
3. Spencer Richey 
CHI
vs. CLB
$4.9

Defenders

Brooks Lennon was en route to a massive point haul in Round 13ā€™s DGW before a rotational roadblock cut his week short. He registered 18 points in one match alone, highlighting what heā€™s capable of if given a full load of minutes. Lennon continues to eat into Thiago Almadaā€™s share of set pieces, making him the top defender with two bites at picking up clean sheet or attacking points.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Brooks Lennon 
ATL 
at LAFC, vs. DC
$10.7
2. Diego Palacios 
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$9.0
3. Andrew Gutman 
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$8.3
4. Ryan Hollingshead 
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$6.6
5. Julian Gressel 
VAN
vs. CIN
$10.7
6. Kai Wagner 
PHI
at SJ
$10.1
7. Juan Jose Purata 
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$7.1
8. Alvaro Barreal 
CIN
at VAN
$12.1
9. Aaron Long 
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$8.4
10. Miles Robinson 
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$6.7
Value Defenders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Christian Makoun 
NE
vs. MIA
$5.7
2. Kendall Burks 
CHI
vs. CLB
$4.0
3. Tim Leibold 
SKC
vs. ATX
$5.1

Midfielders

Thiago Almada should be the first player selected for your team this week, and it would be wise to go ahead a slap the armband on the FIFA World Cup winner. Heā€™s the highest point scorer in the game and he continues to post big attacking numbers across the board. Donā€™t overthink this one; find room for Almada and lock him into your lineup ahead of Wednesdayā€™s clash with LAFC.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Thiago Almada 
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$14.3
2. Carles Gil 
NE
vs. MIA
$11.5
3. Lucas ZelarayƔn
CLB
at CHI
$12.7
4. Eduard Lƶwen
STL
vs. LA
$10.7
5. Cristian Espinoza 
SJ
vs. PHI
$12.4
6. Hany Mukhtar 
NSH
at TOR
$14.3
7. Timothy Tillman 
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$7.9
8. Lorenzo Insigne 
TOR
vs. NSH
$9.9
9. JosĆ© Cifuentes 
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$7.2
10. Luciano Acosta 
CIN
at VAN
$11.4
11. HĆ©ctor Herrera
HOU
vs. LAFC
$10.9
12. Erik Thommy 
SKC
vs. ATX
$8.4
13. Ryan Gauld 
VAN
vs. CIN
$9.2
14. DƔniel Gazdag
PHI
at SJ
$12.3
15. Facundo Torres
ORL
vs. COL
$8.9
16. Ilie SƔnchez
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$6.9
17. Xherdan Shaqiri
CHI
vs. CLB
$8.1
18. Santi Rodriguez
NYC
at RSL
$9.5
19. Riqui Puig 
LA
at STL
$9.1
20. Evander
POR
vs. DAL
$9.6
Value midfielders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Derrick Etienne Jr.
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$4.1
2. Kellyn Acosta 
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$5.2
3. Matheus Rossetto 
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$6.0

Forwards

DĆ©nis Bouanga has bagged a goal in four consecutive MLS starts, notching four or more shots in his last seven. He has the ability to explode for a hat trick any given game, and with two opportunities to ransack the goal, you donā€™t want to be caught without Bouanga in your squad this week.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. DĆ©nis Bouanga
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$11.7
2. Giorgos Giakoumakis
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$9.6
3. Carlos Vela
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$9.4
4. Cucho HernƔndez
CLB
at CHI
$10.8
5. DĆ”niel SallĆ³i
SKC
vs. ATX
$8.2
6. Ercan Kara
ORL
vs. COL
$8.7
7. Alan Pulido
SKC
vs. ATX
$6.9
8. Gustavo Bou 
NE
vs. MIA
$7.7
9. Federico Bernardeschi 
TOR
vs. NSH
$8.1
10. Karol Swiderski 
CLT
vs. SEA
$8.8
Value forwards
1. Luiz AraĆŗjo
ATL 
at LAFC, vs. DC
$6.6
2. Kwadwo Opoku
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$5.9
3. Stipe Biuk
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$5.4
Captain
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Thiago Almada 
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$14.3
2. DĆ©nis Bouanga
LAFC
vs. ATL, at HOU
$11.7
3. Giorgos Giakoumakis 
ATL
at LAFC, vs. DC
$9.6

MLS Squad Pick

Playing MLS Squad Pick is quick and easy. Pick 5 players for your squad. If they all score in the same matchday, you could win a $160 MLSstore.com gift card!

Donā€™t forget, each round you play gives you one (1) entry into the end of season Grand Prize drawing for $10,000!

Expert advice: My Round 18 squad is littered with goal scorers who continue to serve as primary scoring threats from week to week. Thereā€™s some concern that Giorgos Giakoumakis or DĆ©nis Bouanga are rotated since their teams play midweek, but theyā€™ve been hot enough that Iā€™m willing to roll the dice to include them in my squad.

Check out my squad for Round 18:

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MLS Parlay Predictor

Playing MLS Parlay Predictor is simple. Pick the results of all 6 games correctly in a single matchday, and you could win a 2023 MLS Season Pass full season subscription on Apple TV!

Each round you predict gives you one (1) entry into the end of season Grand Prize drawing for $10,000!

Expert advice: Round 18 gives us a handful of good home matchups to attack, so weā€™re going with the home favorite in four of our six predictions this week. Toronto FC have several key players on the mend and will look to stymie a hot Nashville SC side, while the Philadelphia Union will look to run their winning streak to five in a favorable road tilt against San Jose.

Check out my predictions for Round 18:

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