Fantasy Soccer Advice

Fantasy: Week 5 positional rankings


Reid, Mike, and Blayne are joined by Tim Shaw from SoccerCaptains.com to talk about all the MLS Fantasy action that was packed into the few games in Round 4. Blayne drops a big announcement about a discount opportunity from our sponsor, Beard Care Club, and then they get into the recap including Tim answering a popular question. What happened to the Red Bulls?! Mike touches on the lasting impacts of the international break before moving onto the Round 5 preview.




Week 5 of MLS Fantasy is upon us, with multiple key players set to return from international duty, suspensions and injuries. Be sure to monitor player statuses throughout the week as they return to their respective squads, and donā€™t forget that the first game of Week 5 (Toronto FC vs. NYCFC) kicks off on Friday! With that in mind, letā€™s dive right into the top fantasy players at each position this week.


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Goalkeepers

Fantasy: Week 5 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Tim%20Melia.jpg

Melia is the top-ranked goalkeeper for Week 5 | USA Today Images


Tim Melia jumps off the page as the top goalkeeper on a slate that features multiple road favorites. Heā€™s back at Childrenā€™s Mercy Park, where he kept a clean sheet in his last outing and is facing a Montreal attack on Saturday that could be without Ignacio Piatti (3 pm ET | TVAS, TSN5, CTV ā€” Full TV & streaming info).

Rank
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1 
Tim Melia
SKC
vs. MTL
$7.0
2 
Spencer Richey
CIN
vs. PHI
$5.8
3
Joe Bendik
CLB
vs. ATL
$4.4
4 
Bill Hamid
DC
at ORL
$7.4
5 
Nick Rimando
RSL
vs. DAL
$5.9
6
Brian Rowe
ORL
vs. DC
$5.2
7
David Bingham
LA
vs. POR
$5.2
8
Stefan Frei
SEA
at VAN
$7.0
9
Luis Robles
RBNY
at CHI
$5.6
10
Tyler Miller
LAFC
at SJ
$5.5

Defenders

Fantasy: Week 5 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Graham%20Zusi%20on%20the%20ball%20-%20Kei%20Kamara%20tackle%20-%20Colorado%20Rapids%20vs%20Sporting%20KC.jpg

Zusi (right) is another Sporting player atop the position rankings. | USA Today Images


Graham Zusi has yet to make his mark on the scoresheet, but heā€™s knocking at the door with five shots, eight crosses and two chances created through his first two games. With a strong possibility of a clean sheet against Montreal, Zusi is set up for a big fantasy haul if heā€™s able to break through on the attacking end, too.

Rank
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1
Graham Zusi
SKC
vs. MTL
$7.6
2
Harrison Afful
CLB
vs. ATL
$8.1
3
Gaston Sauro
CLB
vs. ATL
$6.5
4
Matt Besler
SKC
vs. MTL
$7.9
5
Kendall Waston
CIN
vs. PHI
$6.2
6
Walker Zimmerman
LAFC
at SJ
$7.8
7
Greg Garza
CIN
vs. PHI
$5.5
8
Mathieu Deplagne
CIN
vs. PHI
$6.3
9
Andreu Fontas
SKC
vs. MTL
$5.5
10
Brad Smith
SEA
at VAN
$6.3
11
Frederic Brillant
DC
at ORL
$7.0
12
Kelvin Leerdam
SEA
at VAN
$6.5
13
Rolf Feltscher
LA
vs. POR
$5.2
14
Nick DeLeon
TOR
vs. NYC
$6.0
15
Justin Morrow
TOR
vs. NYC
$6.7
16
Francisco Calvo
MIN
at NE
$7.5
17
Michael Murillo
RBNY
at CHI
$7.7
18
Leonardo Jara
DC
at ORL
$7.5
19
Seth Sinovic
SKC
vs. MTL
$6.3
20
Edgar Castillo
NE
vs. MIN
$5.3

Midfielders


Nicolas Lodeiro already has two goals, three assists and 29 fantasy points over his first three games, and thereā€™s no reason to think he slows down in Saturdayā€™s Cascadia rivalry against a Vancouver defense that has conceded seven goals in their first three games (10 pm ET | TSN1 ā€” Full TV & streaming info).

Rank
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1
Nicolas Lodeiro
SEA
at VAN
$12.3
2
Romain Alessandrini
LA
vs. POR
$10.1
3
Kenny Saief
CIN
vs. PHI
$8.1
4
Luciano Acosta
DC
at ORL
$11.4
5
Carles Gil
NE
vs. MIN
$9.9
6
Alejandro Pozuelo
TOR
vs. NYC
$10.0
7
Diego Valeri
POR
vs. LA
$11.6
8
Johnny Russell
SKC
vs. MTL
$9.3
9
Marco Fabian
PHI
at CIN
$9.0
10
Albert Rusnak
RSL
vs. DAL
$11.2
11
Federico Higuain
CLB
vs. ATL
$9.0
12
Maxi Moralez
NYC
at TOR
$10.2
13
Nani
ORL
vs. DC
$8.8
14
Victor Rodriguez
SEA
at VAN
$9.5
15
Inbeom Hwang
VAN
vs. SEA
$8.7
16
Felipe Gutierrez
SKC
vs. MTL
$8.1
17
Jonathan dos Santos
LA
vs. POR
$9.1
18
Michael Bradley
TOR
vs. NYC
$10.0
19
Przemyslaw Frankowski
CHI
vs. RBNY
$8.3
20
Damir Kreilach
RSL
vs. DAL
$7.8
21
Ilie Sanchez
SKC
vs. MTL
$9.1
22
Junior Moreno
DC
at ORL
$7.5
23
Daniel Royer
RBNY
at CHI
$8.3
24
Sebastian Blanco
POR
at LA
$10.3
25
Yordy Reyna
VAN
vs. SEA
$8.5
26
Roland Lamah
CIN
vs. PHI
$7.5
27
Jefferson Savarino
RSL
vs. DAL
$8.2
28
Julian Gressel
ATL
at CLB
$8.9
29
Saphir Taider
MTL
at SKC
$11.7
30
Sebastian Lletget
LA
vs. POR
$6.9

Forwards

Fantasy: Week 5 positional rankings - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Vela-2.jpg

Vela remains the top option for forwards. | USA Today Images


Carlos Vela failed to hit the scoresheet in Week 4, but he still managed seven points thanks to multiple attacking bonus points. Facing a leaky San Jose defense on Saturday (3:30 pm ET | Univision, Twitter ā€” Full TV & streaming info) thatā€™s been breached for nine goals in three games, heā€™s back at the top of this weekā€™s forward rankings.


RankPlayerTeamOpponentPrice
1Carlos VelaLAFCat SJ$12.3
2Zlatan IbrahimovicLAvs. POR$11.2
3Darwin QuinteroMINat NE$12.5
4Wayne RooneyDCat ORL$11.0
5Raul RuidiazSEAat VAN$11.2
6Alexandru MitritaNYCat TOR$10.2
7Krisztian NemethSKCvs. MTL$6.7
8Josef MartinezATLat CLB$10.1
9Jozy AltidoreTORvs. NYC$9.6
10Alberth ElisHOUat COL$9.2
11Diego RossiLAFCat SJ$9.0
12Gyasi ZardesCLBvs. ATL$9.8
13Jordan MorrisSEAat VAN$9.3
14Bradley Wright-PhillipsRBNYat CHI$10.3
15Fredy MonteroVANvs. SEA$8.7
16Cristian PenillaNEvs. MIN$8.0
17Kekuta MannehCINvs. PHI$6.4
18Mauro ManotasHOUat COL$10.1
19Kei KamaraCOLvs. HOU$8,8
20Cristian EspinozaSJvs. LAFC$8.8


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