Reid, Michael, and Blayne get together to review the most important fantasy takeaways from Round 21 and preview Round 22. They also take live questions throughout the show from from listeners.
Columbus are strong contenders for most surprising result of Week 21 in the first segment, but face competition from Montreal and Vancouver. The second half of the show focuses on player picks, especially defenders and forwards which seem particularly difficult this week as there are many 50-50 match-ups.
There’s no rest for the weary after the MLS All-Star break, as a full Week 22 is ahead of us with all 24 teams back in action over the weekend. With no double game week players to target for the second week in a row, let’s take a closer look at the top players at each position that could help your team make some moves up the rankings.
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Goalkeepers
Brad Guzan. | USA Today Sports Images
Brad Guzan was roughed up by LAFC in Week 21, but he’s back at Mercedez-Benz Stadium where he’s kept a clean sheet in seven of his last nine home appearances. To top it all off he’s up against an LA Galaxy side that’s been shut out in each of their last two road outings and will be without star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic and young phenom Efrain Alvarez.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Brad Guzan |
ATL |
vs. LA |
$6.3 |
2 |
Daniel Vega |
SJ |
vs. CLB |
$5.8 |
3 |
Przemyslaw Tyton |
CIN |
vs. VAN |
$4.7 |
4 |
Luis Robles |
RBNY |
vs. TOR |
$6.1 |
5 |
Brian Rowe |
ORL |
vs. DAL |
$6.4 |
6 |
Vito Mannone |
MIN |
vs. POR |
$7.0 |
7 |
Bill Hamid |
DC |
vs. PHI |
$6.6 |
8 |
Tyler Deric |
HOU |
vs. CHI |
$4.7 |
9 |
Nick Rimando |
RSL |
vs. NYC |
$7.5 |
10 |
Stefan Frei |
SEA |
vs. SKC |
$6.7 |
Defenders
Romain Metanire continues to produce fantasy points, and despite the tough matchup against an in-form Portland Timbers side, he’s back at home this week where he’s averaging over 10 points per game across his last four at home.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Romain Metanire |
MIN |
vs. POR |
$7.5 |
2 |
Leonardo Jara |
DC |
vs. PHI |
$7.6 |
3 |
Miles Robinson |
ATL |
vs. LA |
$7.2 |
4 |
Florian Jungwirth |
SJ |
vs. CLB |
$7.0 |
5 |
Franco Escobar |
ATL |
vs. LA |
$6.1 |
6 |
Michael Murillo |
RBNY |
vs. TOR |
$6.1 |
7 |
Ronald Matarrita |
NYC |
at RSL |
$6.1 |
8 |
Tommy Thompson |
SJ |
vs. CLB |
$7.1 |
9 |
Aaron Herrera |
RSL |
vs. NYC |
$7.1 |
10 |
Kim Kee-hee |
SEA |
vs. SKC |
$6.6 |
11 |
Ike Opara |
MIN |
vs. POR |
$8.7 |
12 |
Ali Adnan |
VAN |
at CIN |
$5.4 |
13 |
Frederic Brillant |
DC |
vs. PHI |
$7.0 |
14 |
Nick Lima |
SJ |
vs. CLB |
$5.5 |
15 |
Michael Parkhurst |
ATL |
vs. LA |
$4.8 |
16 |
Steve Birnbaum |
DC |
vs. PHI |
$6.4 |
17 |
Kendall Waston |
CIN |
vs. VAN |
$5.2 |
18 |
Lamine Sane |
ORL |
vs. DAL |
$7.7 |
19 |
Anton Tinnerholm |
NYC |
at RSL |
$7.6 |
20 |
Roman Torres |
SEA |
vs. SKC |
$5.5 |
Midfielders
Nicolas Lodeiro. | USA Today Sports Images
Nicolas Lodeiro is in prime position for a bounce back after last week’s dud in Houston. Look for the Uruguayan national team attacker to cause problems for a Sporting Kansas City side that has shown some weaknesses at the back recently.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Nicolas Lodeiro |
SEA |
vs. SKC |
$12.4 |
2 |
Carles Gil |
NE |
vs. LAFC |
$12.3 |
3 |
Vako |
SJ |
vs. CLB |
$8.7 |
4 |
Alejandro Pozuelo |
TOR |
at RBNY |
$11.7 |
5 |
Diego Valeri |
POR |
at MIN |
$12.2 |
6 |
Cristian Espinoza |
SJ |
vs. CLB |
$9.4 |
7 |
Nani |
ORL |
vs. DAL |
$9.0 |
8 |
Julian Gressel |
ATL |
vs. LA |
$9.1 |
9 |
Magnus Eriksson |
SJ |
vs. CLB |
$9.7 |
10 |
Pity Martinez |
ATL |
vs. LA |
$9.4 |
11 |
Daniel Royer |
RBNY |
vs. TOR |
$9.2 |
12 |
Ignacio Piatti |
MTL |
at COL |
$10.0 |
13 |
Eduard Atuesta |
LAFC |
at NE |
$11.4 |
14 |
Marco Fabian |
PHI |
at DC |
$8.9 |
15 |
Pedro Santos |
CLB |
at SJ |
$8.6 |
16 |
Kaku |
RBNY |
vs. TOR |
$8.4 |
17 |
Emmanuel Ledesma |
CIN |
vs. VAN |
$8.4 |
18 |
Luciano Acosta |
DC |
vs. PHI |
$8.4 |
19 |
Jan Gregus |
MIN |
vs. POR |
$9.6 |
20 |
Johnny Russell |
SKC |
at SEA |
$8.2 |
21 |
Sebastian Blanco |
POR |
at MIN |
$10.7 |
22 |
Felipe Gutierrez |
SKC |
at SEA |
$10.4 |
23 |
Saphir Taider |
MTL |
at COL |
$9.7 |
24 |
Yordy Reyna |
VAN |
at CIN |
$7.6 |
25 |
Albert Rusnak |
RSL |
vs. NYC |
$9.7 |
26 |
Jonathan dos Santos |
LA |
at ATL |
$9.5 |
27 |
Mark-Anthony Kaye |
LAFC |
at NE |
$10.0 |
28 |
Cristian Penilla |
NE |
vs. LAFC |
$8.9 |
29 |
Ezequiel Barco |
ATL |
vs. LA |
$9.0 |
30 |
Lassi Lappalainen |
MTL |
at COL |
$7.5 |
Forwards
Going on the road to face a New England Revolution side that is unbeaten in 11 straight would typically be a spot to avoid for fantasy purposes, but Carlos Vela is simply on another level this season and it would be no surprise to see him add to his 22-goal, 13-assist haul this week.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Carlos Vela |
LAFC |
at NE |
$13.0 |
2 |
Josef Martinez |
ATL |
vs. LA |
$12.9 |
3 |
Wayne Rooney |
DC |
vs. PHI |
$10.8 |
4 |
Gustavo Bou |
NE |
vs. LAFC |
$10.3 |
5 |
Brian Fernandez |
POR |
at MIN |
$11.1 |
6 |
Darwin Quintero |
MIN |
vs. POR |
$9.5 |
7 |
Alberth Elis |
HOU |
vs. CHI |
$10.2 |
8 |
Mauro Manotas |
HOU |
vs. CHI |
$8.8 |
9 |
Heber |
NYC |
at RSL |
$9.9 |
10 |
Jozy Altidore |
TOR |
at RBNY |
$10.6 |
11 |
Diego Rossi |
LAFC |
at NE |
$10.4 |
12 |
Jordan Morris |
SEA |
vs. SKC |
$8.9 |
13 |
Adama Diomande |
LAFC |
at NE |
$9.5 |
14 |
Alexandru Mitrita |
NYC |
at RSL |
$8.1 |
15 |
Chris Wondolowski |
SJ |
vs. CLB |
$7.4 |
16 |
Kei Kamara |
COL |
vs. MTL |
$7.4 |
17 |
Brian White |
RBNY |
vs. TOR |
$7.7 |
18 |
Fredy Montero |
VAN |
at CIN |
$7.5 |
19 |
Gyasi Zardes |
CLB |
at SJ |
$8.7 |
20 |
Diego Rubio |
COL |
vs. MTL |
$8.3 |
