After a relatively quiet week in terms of goal scoring in the MLS, it will be interesting to see whether the league’s top strikers can deliver this week with a full slate of games scheduled for Saturday evening. All eyes will be on Toronto FC’s matchup with the Columbus Crew as the top two scorers in the MLS to head-to-head.
The rare occasion forced us to get a little creative when it came to building our lineup but we feel we have found the perfect mix between superstar talent and sleeper plays. Here is a look at the optimal lineup for Saturday’s DraftKings Daily Fantasy Leagues.
GK: Bobby Shuttleworth, New England
Salary: $3,500
The most obvious question here is why we begin building our optimal lineup with the goalkeeper for a New England team that has given up the second-most goals in the MLS this season (33 goals allowed). The answer is two-fold: first of all, the Revolution are have recently spoken about their commitment to being better at the defensive end of the pitch – in particular in road games where they own the league’s worst goal differential at -14 – and secondly, they are playing a Chicago team that has scored the second-fewest goals in the MLS this season. New England needs to be better in its own end and a renewed commitment to defense could make Shuttleworth a sleeper pick to shine this weekend.
D: London Woodbury, New England
Salary: $4,200
Sticking with the theme of the Revolution being better in their own end, we will double down on that frame of thinking and plug in their most productive fantasy defender here. Shuttleworth can hold his own at the defensive end and also chip in with some offense so we will bank on him to produce a solid stat line on Saturday.
D: Alvas Powell, Portland
Salary: $4,100
Portland faces a tough test this week but a win would move them in to a tie with FC Dallas at the top of the Western Conference with 35 points. Powell has been the Timbers best defenders all season and he is available at a very reasonable price, so we will take him in this spot.
M: Marco Pappa, Montreal
Salary: $7,100
Montreal is three points back of Orlando SC for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and while they won’t have an easy time against a talented Seattle team, they should be up for the challenge. Pappa has been excellent for the Impact this year and he is a reasonably priced midfielder at just over $7K.
M: Marco Delgado, Toronto FC
Salary: $5,100
Playing with Giovinco has helped Delgado’s fantasy stock as he produced a goal in last week’s 2-1 win over Philadelphia. TFC has averaged three goals per game over their last two matches and at just over $5K Delgado is a very reasonably priced midfielder in a game where Toronto will need to score some goals.
F: Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC
Salary: $12,000
Giovinco’s 12 goals this season are only two fewer than Kamara for the MLS lead this season but perhaps even more impressive is the fact that he has also produced nine assists, which is the third most in the MLS. Giovinco has been an absolute beast up front for Toronto and he will need to be at his best opposite Kamara on Saturday.
F: Kei Kamara, Columbus
Salary: $10,500
Giovinco should be a lock in almost every DFL lineup but we have enough money to plug Kamara in as well and he should be up to the challenge for the Crew. This game has the potential to feature plenty of scoring and we feel very good about having each of the top two scorers in the MLS in our lineup.
FLEX: Andrew Farrell, New England
Salary: $3,300
With just over $3K left on the table, we will go back to the Revolution for another potential sleeper pick in Farrell, who is listed at $3,300. New England is committed to playing better defensive football and we will take the opportunity to plug another one of their starters in to our lineup against Chicago.
