Week 19 of MLS Fantasy features all 24 teams in action, and while we get a break from the double-game week madness, there are still plenty of outliers to be mindful of when picking your squad this week.
Multiple players are filtering back in since returning from international duty, and with the U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship knockout rounds in full swing, there is sure to be some roster rotation over the busy MLS weekend. With that in mind, let’s key in on the top players at each position this week to help your team gain some ground on the fantasy leaderboards.
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Goalkeepers
Steve Clark has three shutouts in seven appearances this season | USA Today Sports Image
Steve Clark has kept a clean sheet in each of his last three outings, and he’s in a good spot to make it four straight shutouts in a favorable home matchup against Colorado Saturday (11 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, on DAZN in Canada).
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Steve Clark |
POR |
vs. COL |
$6.0 |
2 |
Brian Rowe |
ORL |
vs. CLB |
$5.8 |
3 |
Kenneth Kronholm |
CHI |
vs. CIN |
$4.9 |
4 |
Bill Hamid |
DC |
vs. NE |
$6.5 |
5 |
Nick Rimando |
RSL |
vs. PHI |
$6.2 |
6 |
David Bingham |
LA |
vs. SJ |
$6.9 |
7 |
Vito Mannone |
MIN |
vs. DAL |
$5.5 |
8 |
Luis Robles |
RBNY |
vs. NYC |
$5.6 |
9 |
Evan Bush |
MTL |
vs. TOR |
$5.0 |
10 |
Stefan Frei |
SEA |
vs. ATL |
$6.8 |
Defenders
Joevin Jones has started two of the Sounders last three games.| USA Today
As the Fantasy United FC gang pointed out Tuesday, the defender position is a bit of a crapshoot this week. With no clear cut options, I’m looking at Seattle’s Joevin Jones to provide an attacking punch in my lineup this week. Since rejoining Seattle in May, Jones has shown flashes of his attacking prowess that saw him post 11 assists in 2017. While it’s yet to be seen how the return of international players will impact Jones, he could bring big attacking upside to the table in a home game against Atlanta Sunday (3:55 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes in US; TSN1 in Canada) that could have some fireworks.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Joevin Jones |
SEA |
vs. ATL |
$6.8 |
2 |
Francisco Calvo |
CHI |
vs. CIN |
$6.5 |
3 |
Larrys Mabiala |
POR |
vs. COL |
$8.5 |
4 |
Jorge Moreira |
POR |
vs. COL |
$6.5 |
5 |
Ike Opara |
MIN |
vs. DAL |
$7.5 |
6 |
Ronald Mataritta |
NYC |
at RBNY |
$6.0 |
7 |
Steve Birnbaum |
DC |
vs. NE |
$7.1 |
8 |
Frederic Brillant |
DC |
vs. NE |
$7.0 |
9 |
Zakaria Diallo |
MTL |
vs. TOR |
$7.0 |
10 |
Ali Adnan |
VAN |
vs. SKC |
$5.7 |
11 |
Daniel Steres |
LA |
vs. SJ |
$6.4 |
12 |
Graham Zusi |
SKC |
at VAN |
$7.3 |
13 |
Kelvin Leerdam |
SEA |
vs. ATL |
$6.3 |
14 |
Kemar Lawrence |
RBNY |
vs. NYC |
$6.3 |
15 |
Leonardo Jara |
DC |
vs. NE |
$6.3 |
16 |
Hassani Dotson |
MIN |
vs. DAL |
$5.1 |
17 |
Ryan Hollingshead |
DAL |
at MIN |
$7.0 |
18 |
Aaron Herrera |
RSL |
vs. PHI |
$6.1 |
19 |
Lamine Sane |
ORL |
vs. CLB |
$6.4 |
20 |
Aaron Long |
RBNY |
vs. NYC |
$7.0 |
Midfielders
Nico Gaitan has three goals and eight assists this season| USA Today
Despite being kept in check in his last outing, Nico Gaitan is hot off a monster 26-point Week 18 thanks to a three-assist, one-goal outburst against Atlanta in his last home game. He should see multiple opportunities to make his mark on the scoresheet in a juicy home matchup Saturday (8 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, on DAZN in Canada) with an FC Cincinnati side that has shipped a combined 20 goals over their last four road games.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Nicolas Gaitan |
CHI |
vs. CIN |
$9.6 |
2 |
Nicolas Lodeiro |
SEA |
vs. ATL |
$11.5 |
3 |
Diego Valeri |
POR |
vs. COL |
$11.6 |
4 |
Alejandro Pozuelo |
TOR |
at MTL |
$10.5 |
5 |
Aleksandar Katai |
CHI |
vs. CIN |
$9.0 |
6 |
Jonathan dos Santos |
LA |
vs. SJ |
$10.0 |
7 |
Nani |
ORL |
vs. CLB |
$9.5 |
8 |
Maxi Moralez |
NYC |
at RBNY |
$12.0 |
9 |
Saphir Taider |
MTL |
vs. TOR |
$10.0 |
10 |
Sebastian Blanco |
POR |
vs. COL |
$11.0 |
11 |
Carles Gil |
NE |
at DC |
$10.9 |
12 |
Johnny Russell |
SKC |
at VAN |
$9.0 |
13 |
Kaku |
NYRB |
vs. NYC |
$8.8 |
14 |
Felipe Gutierrez |
SKC |
at VAN |
$9.8 |
15 |
Albert Rusnak |
RSL |
vs. PHI |
$9.6 |
16 |
Daniel Royer |
RBNY |
vs. NYC |
$9.0 |
17 |
Marco Fabian |
PHI |
at RSL |
$9.0 |
18 |
Pity Martinez |
ATL |
at SEA |
$9.5 |
19 |
Yordy Reyna |
VAN |
vs. SKC |
$8.6 |
20 |
Cristian Espinoza |
SJ |
at LA |
$9.3 |
21 |
Mark-Anthony Kaye |
LAFC |
at HOU |
$10.5 |
22 |
Pedro Santos |
CLB |
at ORL |
$8.0 |
23 |
Paxton Pomykal |
DAL |
at MIN |
$9.1 |
24 |
Magnus Eriksson |
SJ |
at LA |
$8.2 |
25 |
Latif Blessing |
LAFC |
at HOU |
$9.5 |
26 |
Dax McCarty |
CHI |
vs. CIN |
$7.8 |
27 |
Vako |
SJ |
at LA |
$7.2 |
28 |
Chris Mueller |
ORL |
vs. CLB |
$6.9 |
29 |
Przemyslaw Frankowski |
CHI |
vs. CIN |
$6.6 |
30 |
Fabian Herbers |
CHI |
vs. CIN |
$4.8 |
Forwards
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has three braces this season| USA Today
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was back at it again with a brace and 12 points in Week 18, and he’ll look to exact revenge at home Friday (11 pm ET | UniMás, UDN, Twitter in US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)against a San Jose Earthquakes unit that shut him out in the most recent version of the Cali Clasico just two games ago. Ibrahimovic has done most of his damage at home this season with 10 of his 13 goals coming at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Rank |
Player |
Team |
Opponent |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Zlatan Ibrahimovic |
LA |
vs. SJ |
$10.3 |
2 |
Carlos Vela |
LAFC |
vs. HOU |
$12.0 |
3 |
Brian Fernandez |
POR |
vs. COL |
$10.9 |
4 |
Wayne Rooney |
DC |
vs. NE |
$11.1 |
5 |
Darwin Quintero |
MIN |
vs. DAL |
$10.7 |
6 |
CJ Sapong |
CHI |
vs. CIN |
$7.3 |
7 |
Nemanja Nikolic |
CHI |
vs. CIN |
$7.8 |
8 |
Raul Ruidiaz |
SEA |
vs. ATL |
$10.5 |
9 |
Josef Martinez |
ATL |
at SEA |
$11.5 |
10 |
Alberth Elis |
HOU |
vs. LAFC |
$10.9 |
11 |
Jozy Altidore |
TOR |
at MTL |
$10.0 |
12 |
Diego Rossi |
LAFC |
at HOU |
$10.5 |
13 |
Dom Dwyer |
ORL |
vs. CLB |
$8.0 |
14 |
Mauro Manotas |
HOU |
vs. LAFC |
$8.8 |
15 |
Kacper Przybylko |
PHI |
at RSL |
$8.0 |
16 |
Tesho Akindele |
ORL |
vs. CLB |
$6.6 |
17 |
Heber |
NYC |
at RBNY |
$9.0 |
18 |
Brian White |
RBNY |
vs. NYC |
$6.7 |
19 |
Valentin Castellanos |
NYC |
at RBNY |
$8.0 |
20 |
Bradley Wright-Phillips |
RBNY |
vs. NYC |
$8.5 |
