Reid, Mike, Blayne and Matt Pollard from Last Word on Soccer sit down to review the many fantasy insights that the few games in Round 4 revealed. The r/FantasyMLS question thread was ON FIRE this week, so they guys also spend some time covering many of the hot topics including player price changes, rolling transfers, which players have surprised and disappointed, and ….. ZLATAN! They wrap everything up with a quick preview of each game for Round 5 and the usual chalkboard picks. SPECIAL BONUS: There is also a special IN DEPTH interview with Matt going over the impact of Zlatan and the big LAG vs LAFC game. This will first be available to our Patreon supporters and then available to everyone later in the week.
After an international break where 11 MLS teams were out of action, MLS Fantasy is back in full swing with several juicy matchups to target in Week 5.
Goalkeepers
Zack Steffen has kept two clean sheets in three appearances, and he should slot right back into the lineup after notching his first career international clean sheet turning in the US national team’s1-0 win over Paraguay on Tuesday. A Crew SC home game (Saturday, 3 pm ET; TV & streaming info) against a Vancouver attack that have just one goal over their last two games sees Steffen back at the top of the goalkeeper chart this week.
| Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Steffen | CLB | vs. VAN | $ 7.0 |
| 2 | Stefan Frei | SEA | vs. MTL | $ 6.0 |
| 3 | Alex Bono | TOR | vs. RSL | $ 5.8 |
| 4 | Tim Melia | SKC | vs. DC | $ 4.4 |
| 5 | Chris Seitz | HOU | vs. NE | $ 5.8 |
| 6 | Tim Howard | COL | vs. PHI | $ 5.3 |
| 7 | Richard Sanchez | CHI | vs. POR | $ 4.7 |
| 8 | Brad Guzan | ATL | at MIN | $ 5.4 |
| 9 | Joe Bendik | ORL | vs. RBNY | $ 5.5 |
| 10 | Andre Blake | PHI | at COL | $ 7.0 |
Defenders
Both Graham Zusi and Milton Valenzuela have shown their worth in the attacking third, and with Zusi on a share of set pieces in Sporting Kansas City’s dynamic attack he possesses arguably the highest fantasy ceiling of any defender in MLS. Steven Beitashour has quietly churned out seven bonus points in his first two games, and two assists in his last outing highlights the attacking upside he carries.
| Rank | Playe | Team | Opponent | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graham Zusi | SKC | vs. DC | $ 7.0 |
| 2 | Milton Valenzuela | CLB | vs. VAN | $ 7.0 |
| 3 | Steven Beitashour | LAFC | at LA | $ 6.0 |
| 4 | Jonathan Mensah | CLB | vs. VAN | $ 7.5 |
| 5 | Johan Kappelhof | CHI | vs. POR | $ 5.1 |
| 6 | Ike Opara | SKC | vs. DC | $ 5.1 |
| 7 | Lalas Abubakar | CLB | vs. VAN | $ 6.5 |
| 8 | Gregory van der Wiel | TOR | vs. RSL | $ 5.2 |
| 9 | Matt Besler | SKC | vs. DC | $ 5.2 |
| 10 | Drew Moor | TOR | vs. RSL | $ 6.5 |
| 11 | Alexander Callens | NYC | at SJ | $ 7.5 |
| 12 | Laurent Ciman | LAFC | at LA | $ 6.5 |
| 13 | Daniel Steres | LA | vs. LAFC | $ 5.2 |
| 14 | Harrison Afful | CLB | vs. DC | $ 7.0 |
| 15 | Kelvin Leerdam | SEA | vs. MTL | $ 5.6 |
| 16 | Leandro Gonzalez Pirez | ATL | at MIN | $ 5.1 |
| 17 | Chad Marshall | SEA | vs. MTL | $ 5.5 |
| 18 | Mohamed El-Munir | ORL | vs. RBNY | $ 5.9 |
| 19 | Brandon Vincent | CHI | vs. POR | $ 5.8 |
| 20 | Jack Elliott | PHI | at COL | $ 6.5 |
Midfielders
Felipe Gutierrez has a combined four goals and 33 fantasy points over his last three games, and while his price continues to rise he’s still very much affordable at $ 9.7 million. A home game versus D.C. United in which SKC’s high-octane attack should continue to thrive plants Gutierrez and teammate Johnny Russell firmly on the fantasy radar in Week 5.
| Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Felipe Gutierrez | SKC | vs. DC | $ 9.7 |
| 2 | Federico Higuain | CLB | vs. VAN | $ 11.6 |
| 3 | Miguel Almiron | ATL | at MIN | $ 10.8 |
| 4 | Nicolas Lodeiro | SEA | vs. MTL | $ 11.2 |
| 5 | Aleksandar Katai | CHI | vs. POR | $ 9.5 |
| 6 | Johnny Russell | SKC | vs. DC | $ 8.9 |
| 7 | Vako | SJ | vs. NYC | $ 10.0 |
| 8 | Magnus Wolff Eikrem | SEA | vs. MTL | $ 7.2 |
| 9 | Sacha Kljestan | ORL | vs. RBNY | $ 9.9 |
| 10 | Ignacio Piatti | MTL | at SEA | $ 11.2 |
| 11 | Victor Vazquez | TOR | vs. RSL | $ 10.0 |
| 12 | Justin Meram | ORL | vs. RBNY | $ 8.6 |
| 13 | Diego Valeri | POR | at CHI | $ 9.5 |
| 14 | Joao Plata | RSL | at TOR | $ 10.2 |
| 15 | Maxi Moralez | NYC | at SJ | $ 11.0 |
| 16 | Benny Feilhaber | LAFC | at LA | $ 9.3 |
| 17 | David Accam | PHI | at COL | $ 9.3 |
| 18 | Albert Rusnak | RSL | at TOR | $ 10.9 |
| 19 | Pedro Santos | CLB | vs. VAN | $ 9.1 |
| 20 | Jesus Medina | NYC | at SJ | $ 9.9 |
| 21 | Jack Price | COL | vs. PHI | $ 7.2 |
| 22 | Borek Dockal | PHI | at COL | $ 8.3 |
| 23 | Danny Hoesen | SJ | vs. NYC | $ 8.5 |
| 24 | Cristian Martinez | CLB | vs. VAN | $ 5.0 |
| 25 | Tomas Martinez | HOU | vs. NE | $ 8.5 |
| 26 | Magnus Eriksson | SJ | vs. NYC | $ 8.7 |
| 27 | Ethan Finlay | MIN | vs. ATL | $ 6.6 |
| 28 | Yamil Asad | DC | at SKC | $ 8.3 |
| 29 | Sebastian Lletget | LA | vs. LAFC | $ 6.6 |
| 30 | Bastian Schweinsteiger | CHI | vs. POR | $ 10.1 |
Forwards
Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi exploded for a combined 39 points in Week 2 and they’ve had three weeks to prepare for Saturday’s clash with cross-town counterparts LA Galaxy (3 pm ET; FOX — full TV & streaming info). If Zlatan Ibrahimovic happens to make the Galaxy starting lineup he simply can’t be ignored in what has the makings of a shootout. Sebastian Giovinco has a good matchup against the same Real Salt Lake squad that Vela and Rossi lit up, but riding the hot hand with Alberth Elis may be the safer route with Toronto FC likely prioritizing Tuesday’s Concacaf Champions League semifinal.
| Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Vela | LAFC | at LA | $ 10.5 |
| 2 | Sebastian Giovinco | TOR | vs. RSL | $ 10.0 |
| 3 | Alberth Elis | HOU | vs. NE | $ 10.5 |
| 4 | Josef Martinez | ATL | at MIN | $ 11.0 |
| 5 | Nemanja Nikolic | CHI | vs. POR | $ 11.6 |
| 6 | David Villa | NYC | at SJ | $ 11.3 |
| 7 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | LA | vs. LAFC | $ 10.0 |
| 8 | Diego Rossi | LAFC | at LA | $ 10.2 |
| 9 | Gyasi Zardes | CLB | vs. VAN | $ 9.6 |
| 10 | Ola Kamara | LA | vs. LAFC | $ 9.3 |
| 11 | Jozy Altidore | TOR | vs. RSL | $ 9.5 |
| 12 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | RBNY | at ORL | $ 9.9 |
| 13 | Mauro Manotas | HOU | vs. NE | $ 8.6 |
| 14 | Chris Wondolowski | SJ | vs. NYC | $ 9.2 |
| 15 | Hector Villalba | ATL | at MIN | $ 10.0 |
| 16 | Dominique Badji | COL | vs. PHI | $ 7.6 |
| 17 | Dom Dwyer | ORL | vs. RBNY | $ 9.0 |
| 18 | Will Bruin | SEA | vs. MTL | $ 7.1 |
| 19 | Christian Ramirez | MIN | vs. ATL | $ 7.5 |
| 20 | Kei Kamara | VAN | at CLB | $ 9.7 |
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