Fantasy: Week 3 positional rankings

Reid, Mike and Blayne are joined by special guest, Matt Pollard from Last Word on Soccer to review the top fantasy takeaways from Round 2 and preview the games and top player options for Round 3. This episode also includes an exciting new announcement near the top of the show and a new Fan Poll request during the preview section that will determine how Reid builds his Round 3 team.

After just one clean sheet on opening weekend, Week 2 of MLS Fantasy proved just how vital keying in on the right defenders can be in shooting your fantasy team up the standings. With slightly more data at our disposal heading into Week 3, here are my top players at each position based on recent performance and matchups.

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Goalkeepers

Luis Robles led the league with 14 shutouts last season, and a home opener Saturday (3:30 pm ET | Univision, Twitter — Full TV & streaming info) against a disjointed San Jose Earthquakes attack has him in a favorable spot to collect his first clean sheet of 2019.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Luis Robles	RBNY	vs. SJ	$6.0
2	Zack Steffen	CLB	vs. DAL	$6.7
3	Bill Hamid	DC	vs. RSL	$6.9
4	Brad Guzan	ATL	vs. PHI	$5.6
5	Alex Bono	TOR	vs. NE	$5.6
6	Joe Willis	HOU	vs. VAN	$5.2
7	Brian Rowe	ORL	vs. MTL	$4.6
8	David Bingham	LA	vs. MIN	$5.5
9	Sean Johnson	NYC	vs. LAFC	$6.4
10	Spencer Richey	CIN	vs. POR	$4.8

Defenders

Nick DeLeon flashed his fantasy upside in Week 1, scoring 13 points by way of a goal and an assist, along with a dusting of bonus points. He should continue to feature as a winger in the attack, which is a nice bonus anytime we can roster an attacker on our backline with the potential to rack up points on both ends of the field. Toronto FC and DeLeon play the New England Revolution on Sunday (7:30 pm ET | TSN4,5 — Full TV & streaming info).

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Nick DeLeon	TOR	vs. NE	$5.5
2	Aaron Long	RBNY	vs. SJ	$6.7
3	Michael Murillo	RBNY	vs. SJ	$7.2
4	Kemar Lawrence	RBNY	vs. SJ	$6.5
5	Tim Parker	RBNY	vs. SJ	$6.7
6	Harrison Afful	CLB	vs. DAL	$7.2
7	Frederic Brillant	DC	vs. RSL	$6.5
8	Gaston Sauro	CLB	vs. DAL	$5.5
9	Justin Morrow	TOR	vs. NE	$6.2
10	Auro	TOR	vs. NE	$5.8
11	Steve Birnbaum	DC	vs. RSL	$6.0
12	Laurent Ciman	TOR	vs. NE	$6.1
13	Miles Robinson	ATL	vs. PHI	$5.6
14	Drew Moor	TOR	vs. NE	$5.0
15	Maynor Figueroa	HOU	vs. VAN	$5.5
16	Daniel Steres	LA	vs. MIN	$5.8
17	Kendall Waston	CIN	vs. POR	$5.7
18	Francisco Calvo	MIN	at LA	$7.0
19	Reto Ziegler	DAL	at CLB	$6.2
20	Kelvin Leerdam	SEA	at CHI	$6.0

Midfielders

Fantasy: Week 3 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Lucho_0.jpg?jOOgJdm2nKhrJ2Qjw4GnaucTg6BJStRQ

Lucho will look to rebound from a tough week in the Bronx | USA Today Sports Images

Luciano Acosta had a dream start to the season with 15 points in D.C. United's home opener, and he was a clutch Sean Johnson save away from following that up with another goal in Week 2. He’s playing with a chip on his shoulder and should continue to cause chaos at home Saturday (8 pm ET | TV & streaming info) against Real Salt Lake.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Luciano Acosta	DC	vs. RSL	$11.4
2	Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA	at CHI	$11.8
3	Diego Valeri	POR	at CIN	$11.5
4	Kaku	RBNY	vs. SJ	$9.0
5	Maxi Moralez	NYC	vs. LAFC	$10.3
6	Pity Martinez	ATL	vs. PHI	$9.8
7	Saphir Taider	MTL	at ORL	$11.5
8	Nani	ORL	vs. MTL	$9.4
9	Ignacio Piatti	MTL	at ORL	$11.0
10	Tomas Martinez	HOU	vs. VAN	$8.4
11	Federico Higuain	CLB	vs. DAL	$9.3
12	Florian Valot	RBNY	vs. SJ	$7.8
13	Jonathan Osorio	TOR	vs. NE	$9.2
14	Sebastian Blanco	POR	at CIN	$10.7
15	Daniel Royer	RBNY	vs. SJ	$7.5
16	Johnny Russell	SKC	at COL	$9.1
17	Albert Rusnak	RSL	at DC	$11.0
18	Julian Gressel	ATL	vs. PHI	$8.5
19	Michael Bradley	TOR	vs. NE	$9.5
20	Carles Gil	NE	at TOR	$9.2
21	Kenny Saief	CIN	vs. POR	$7.6
22	Benny Feilhaber	COL	vs. SKC	$8.4
23	Victor Rodriguez	SEA	at CHI	$9.0
24	Ilie Sanchez	SKC	at COL	$8.7
25	Pedro Santos	CLB	vs. DAL	$7.1
26	Paul Arriola	DC	vs. RSL	$9.5
27	Chris Pontius	LA	vs. MIN	$5.0
28	Felipe Gutierrez	SKC	at COL	$8.5
29	Marc Rzatkowski	NYRB	vs. SJ	$7.0
30	Roland Lamah	CIN	vs. POR	$7.5

Forwards

Wayne Rooney has yet to put the ball in the back of the net through the first two games of the season, but he’s back at Audi Field where he’s scored or assisted in six of his last seven regular season games dating back to last year. It’s only a matter of time before he opens his 2019 account, and he should see multiple opportunities against a RSL side that has conceded 24 shots over their first two games.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Wayne Rooney	DC	vs. RSL	$10.5
2	Darwin Quintero	MIN	at LA	$12.0
3	Josef Martinez	ATL	vs. PHI	$10.5
4	Bradley Wright-Phillips	RBNY	vs. SJ	$10.5
5	Carlos Vela	LAFC	at NYC	$11.3
6	Mauro Manotas	HOU	vs. VAN	$9.9
7	Alexandru Mitrita	NYC	vs. LAFC	$10.2
8	Alberth Elis	HOU	vs. VAN	$8.7
9	Romell Quioto	HOU	vs. VAN	$8.3
10	Raul Ruidiaz	SEA	at CHI	$10.8
11	Gyasi Zardes	CLB	vs. DAL	$9.7
12	Dom Dwyer	ORL	vs. MTL	$9.1
13	Kei Kamara	COL	vs. SKC	$9.7
14	Krisztian Nemeth	SKC	at COL	$7.1
15	Fanendo Adi	CIN	vs. POR	$8.2
16	Nemanja Nikolic	CHI	vs. SEA	$8.6
17	Jeremy Ebobisse	POR	at CIN	$7.4
18	Diego Rubio	COL	vs. SKC	$6.9
19	Diego Rossi	LAFC	at NYC	$9.5
20	CJ Sapong	CHI	vs. SEA	$7.9