Fantasy: Week 8 positional rankings

Reid, Michael and Blayne get together to review all the Fantasy takeaways from the adjust Round 7 double-game week and talk about all the options for Round 8. They start out by recapping the recent score readjustment and then get into a discussion about the value of Vancouver players for the upcoming DGW. They wrap up with a review of the best player options for Round 8 and go on a little tangent about differential picks and the value of Bradley Wright-Phillips.

Barring any bizarre weather postponements, Week 8 of MLS Fantasy features two teams playing twice. Fortunately, BC Place has a retractable roof, so I think we’re safe to roster Los Angeles Football Club and Vancouver Whitecaps players if we’re going back to the double game week (DGW) well! Let’s take a closer look at which double game week players to target, along with any single game players who could turn in a big fantasy score this week.

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Goalkeepers

Fantasy: Week 8 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/TylerMiller9281.jpg

LAFC's Tyler Miller has three clean sheets and has only conceded five goals in his first seven games of the season. | USA Today Sports Images

Tyler Miller has logged 325 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal, which bodes well even on the road Wednesday (10 PM ET | TSN 1/3, MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US) against a Vancouver Whitecaps side that was shut out in back-to-back home games before drawing the Chicago Fire, 1-1, last weekend.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Tyler Miller	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$7.0
2	Maxime Crepeau	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$5.5
3	Andre Blake	PHI	vs. MTL	$6.8
4	Zack Steffen	CLB	vs. POR	$8.7
5	Brad Guzan	ATL	vs. DAL	$6.5
6	Brian Rowe	ORL	vs. VAN	$5.2
7	David Ousted	CHI	vs. COL	$5.6
8	Bill Hamid	DC	vs. NYC	$8.3
9	David Bingham	LA	vs. HOU	$6.0
10	Przemyslaw Tyton	CIN	vs. RSL	$5.0

Defenders

Fantasy: Week 8 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Zimmerman_0.jpg

In addition to anchoring the LAFC defense, Walker Zimmerman also has a goal. | USA Today Sports Images

Walker Zimmerman has reeled off four consecutive games with at least eight points, and he has the best points per game average of any DGW defender on the board. There is some cause for rotation concern after he exited with a knock in the 86th minute of the last game, so be sure to monitor starting lineups ahead of Wednesday's match before paying the premium for Zimmerman.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Walker Zimmerman	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$9.3
2	Steven Beitashour	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$7.2
3	Eddie Segura	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$7.2
4	Jordan Harvey	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$6.4
5	Ali Adnan	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$5.2
6	Doneil Henry	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$6.8
7	Erik Godoy	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$7.6
8	Nick DeLeon	TOR	vs. MIN	$7.5
9	Justin Morrow	TOR	vs. MIN	$6.9
10	Jack Elliott	PHI	vs. MTL	$6.2
11	Graham Zusi	SKC	at SJ	$8.0
12	Josh Williams	CLB	vs. POR	$6.0
13	Leandro Gonzalez Pirez	ATL	vs. DAL	$7.2
14	Kendall Waston	CIN	vs. RSL	$7.2
15	Ruan	ORL	vs. VAN	$5.1
16	Joao Moutinho	ORL	vs. VAN	$5.7
17	Kai Wagner	PHI	vs. MTL	$6.5
18	Steven Birnbaum	DC	vs. NYC	$9.0
19	Reto Ziegler	DAL	at ATL	$8.0
20	Shea Salinas	SJ	vs. SKC	$4.9

Midfielders

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LAFC's Mark-Anthony Kaye has two goals and two assists in six appearances this season. | USA Today Sports Images

Mark-Anthony Kaye has a goal or an assist in each of his last three games, averaging nine fantasy points per game over that span. As with all DGW players, keep an eye on starting lineups in the first game and adjust accordingly. While it’s a guessing game who is rotated over the DGW, I do think that LAFC will roll out a full-strength side in a Western Conference clash with Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday (7 PM ET | FS1, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada). That would give any regular starters who make the starting lineup at Vancouver a good shot at featuring in both matches.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Mark-Anthony Kaye	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$9.3
2	Eduard Atuesta	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$8.7
3	Inbeom Hwang	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$7.4
4	Yordy Reyna	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$8.1
5	Alejandro Pozuelo	TOR	vs. MIN	$11.5
6	Nani	ORL	vs. MINL	$9.8
7	Romain Alessandrini	LA	vs. HOU	$9.3
8	Nicolas Lodeiro	SEA	at LAFC	$11.9
9	Johnny Russell	SKC	at SJ	$10.8
10	Kenny Saief	CIN	vs. RSL	$8.0
11	Federico Higuain	CLB	vs. POR	$8.5
12	Carles Gil	NE	vs. RBNY	$10.7
13	Jon Erice	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$6.4
14	Felipe Martins	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$6.7
15	Russell Teibert	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$5.7
16	Nicolas Gaitan	CHI	vs. COL	$8.7
17	Aleksandar Katai	CHI	vs. COL	$7.8
18	Luciano Acosta	DC	vs. NYC	$10.4
19	Maxi Moralez	NYC	at DC	$10.0
20	Albert Rusnak	RSL	at CIN	$10.0
21	Diego Valeri	POR	at CLB	$10.3
22	Julian Gressel	ATL	vs. DAL	$9.4
23	Jonathan Osorio	TOR	vs. MIN	$9.9
24	Pity Martinez	ATL	vs. DAL	$9.0
25	Ezequiel Barco	ATL	vs. DAL	$7.4
26	Daniel Royer	NYRB	at NE	$7.6
27	Saphir Taider	MTL	at PHI	$11.2
28	Felipe Gutierrez	SKC	at SJ	$8.6
29	Tomas Martinez	HOU	at LA	$8.7
30	Brenden Aaronson	PHI	vs. MTL	$6.4

Forwards

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LAFC's Carlos Vela leads Major League soccer with eight goals and five assists. | USA Today Sports Images

Carlos Vela continues to post video-game numbers, and his 86 total points are 30 more than the next highest scoring player in MLS Fantasy. That kind of production is worth moving mountains for on a DGW. As long as he’s in the starting lineup at Vancouver on Wednesday, he’ll be the consensus captain pick in Week 8.

Rank	Player	Team	Opponent	Price
1	Carlos Vela	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$13.8
2	Diego Rossi	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$10.5
3	Latif Blessing	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$8.5
4	Christian Ramirez	LAFC	at VAN, vs. SEA	$6.2
5	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	LA	vs. HOU	$12.7
6	Jozy Altidore	TOR	vs. MIN	$11.1
7	Fredy Montero	VAN	vs. LAFC, at ORL	$7.8
8	Wayne Rooney	DC	vs. NYC	$11.1
9	Josef Martinez	ATL	vs. DAL	$9.3
10	Darwin Quintero	MIN	at TOR	$12.0
11	Dom Dwyer	ORL	vs. VAN	$9.2
12	Alberth Elis	HOU	at LA	$10.2
13	Nemanja Nikolic	CHI	vs. COL	$8.2
14	Gyasi Zardes	CLB	vs. POR	$9.3
15	Hector Villalba	ATL	vs. DAL	$7.8
16	C.J. Sapong	CHI	vs. COL	$8.5
17	Darren Mattocks	CIN	vs. RSL	$6.8
18	Mauro Manotas	HOU	at LA	$10.6
19	Krisztian Nemeth	SKC	at SJ	$8.6
20	Bradley Wright-Phillips	RBNY	at NE	$9.0