MLS GAMEWEEK 20
We now find ourselves in game week 20 of the MLS season. Gameweek 19 was a midweek edition, and as usual, rotation played a part and some unexpected results. Gameweek 20 is an 8-game slate, and here is my take on who to target for your teams to take down the slate here at FanTeam
THE CONTEST
The Main Event contest runs through July 3rd
This week's Main Event contest has 2 buy-ins of €2 and €15 respectively. The €2 contest has a prize pool of €200 and the €15 has a prize pool of €500. BOTH PRIZEPOOLS ARE PROGRESSIVE.
The rules are simple to follow. You will be required to pick 11 players to fill out your squad whilst staying within a budget of 108.0m. For each team you enter, you must select a captain and a vice-captain. Your captain will score 2x points. However, if your captain does not play, your vice-captain will then score 2x points.
You can select a maximum of 3 players from the same team. It is worth noting that if you select two or more defensive players from the same team (GK and DEF), and the team keeps a clean sheet, a stacking penalty will apply.
No bench is required in this contest, folks. Instead, you have the innovative safety net feature to fall back on! This means if you have a player who does not start, your player will be replaced at the beginning of the match. This is dependent on a player being available from the same team, at the same price or less. The closest price to your player value will be automatically selected.
Standard FanTeam scoring applies to this contest.
With the rules covered, let's take a look at some of my picks from each game, shall we?
THE GAMES
New York City Vs Atlanta United - 22:00 BST
The current MLS cup winners are going through a bit of a bad patch, no wins in their last 3 but will be hoping to get back to winning ways here. Atlanta looked like they were getting back on track after a win against Miami, however, 2 defeats in 2 games show they just can't get a run together. Valentin Castellanos (13.3M) did not feature midweek but could feature this weekend. Maxi Moralez (11.7M) got 3 assists midweek and is the key to NYCFC unlocking this Atlanta team. Josef Martinez (6.9M) is being monitored game by game since his return from injury, he was a sub midweek but I'd expect him to start here. Luiz Araujo (6.8M) is also a key part of the Atlanta team and with NYCFC being in a bad patch could take advantage. 5 of the last 6 games between the 2 has seen the home side come away with the win, and NYCFC will be hoping that continues here.
Columbus Crew Vs Philadelphia Union - 00.30 BST
Columbus comes into this game without a defeat in their last 4 games. A midweek wins away to Toronto was also topped off by the return of Lucas Zelarayan (8.1M) to the starting 11. He grabbed an assist and managed to get 60 minutes under his belt. Darlington Nagbe (7.5M) grabbed the winner midweek and is key here against Philadelphia. The Union come into this game on the back of a terrible defeat away to the bottom at the time Chicago, and Philly slipped to 3rd in the Eastern Conference. Again this game week Philly players have been priced nicely but if midweek has taught me anything it's to now be cautious. Daniel Gazdag (7.6M) is the man to target and needs to recapture his form here. The away team in this fixture has not won since 2016, so history suggests Columbus gets the win.
New England Revolution Vs Cincinnati - 00.30 BST
New England comes into this game 10 games without defeat, they face a Cincinnati side who themselves are slowly regaining form. These two met recently in a 5 goal thriller and I expect goals to be on the menu again here. Carles Gil (13.8M) is a solid option as ever this week but can prove a bit pricey. Since Adam Buksa left, Gustavo Bou (13.9M) has stepped up to the plate. Cincinnati has a striker in red hot form, Brenner (6.3M) has 4 goals in 2 games and his partnership with Brandon Vazquez (7.5M) is forming nicely and will be needed here to try and take the points. New England has won the last 4 meetings.
Minnesota Vs Real Salt Lake - 01.00 BST
Minnesota picked up a much-needed win midweek away to the Galaxy, they will be hoping to take that into this game against a very solid Real Salt Lake side. Robin Lod (10.2M) and Emanuel Reynoso (10.1M) are the main guys for this Minnesota team, with 11 goals between them this season. Real Salt Lake will be disappointed not to get the win last time out against Columbus, but do sit nicely in 3rd in the Western Conference. They are a solid team and games that involve Real don't usually produce many goals. History also suggests games between the two are low-scoring affairs also. Zac MacMath (6.9M) is the top-performing Real player in FanTeam and is a good option to have in goal this week again. Justen Glad (6.4M) could also be a cheaper option to have in your defense which allows you to get higher-priced players in.
Sporting Kansas City Vs New York Red Bulls - 01.00 BST
Sporting Kansas has lost the most number of games in the Eastern Conference and is joint-worst across the MLS. They also struggle to score goals. They face a Red Bulls team that from a DFS point of view is horrible to find the right players. However, the Red Bulls do sit 2nd in the Eastern Conference. Lewis Morgan (8.8M) is the only consistent with this team and he grabbed his 8th goal of the season in midweek. Sporting Kansas will be looking toward Johnny Russell (8.2M) and Daniel Salloi (8.5M) to find their form and try and get something from this game. Games between the two are usually tight affairs with goals in them, not sure we will see many goals here but I do expect a close game.
Houston Dynamo Vs Charlotte - 01.30 BST
Houston at home is in good form, they face a Charlotte team who haven't won away all season. Darwin Quintero (10M) despite not completing a full 90 minutes in a while still seems to be able to grab himself a goal. 7 goals this season, he will be looking to add to that here. Steve Clark (8.1M) is my go-to option for a goalkeeper this week, Charlotte doesn't score more than 1 usually in a game and with Houston being solid at home, a clean sheet could be on the cards. Andre Shinyashiki (6.6M) when he plays 90 minutes usually shows a return and is probably the only decent option for Charlotte here.
Nashville SC vs Portland Timbers - 01.30 BST
Other than a rare defeat at home to Sporting Kansas, Nashville has been a solid side recently, quietly creeping up the league and they have themselves a player in Hany Mukhtar (11.5M) is fast becoming the potential MVP in the MLS this season. They face a Portland side who have won back-to-back games and are slowly pulling themselves in contention for a playoff spot. Portland however is not a great away from home. Joe Willis (8.5M) is another option for a goalkeeper this week as I fancy Nashville to get the win. Santiago Moreno (6.4M) has been key to Portland's 2 wins, where he has 2 goals and an assist in those games. Yimmi Chara (6.7M) has also found some form and has 2 assists and a goal in his last 3. These 2 have only met once, where Portland was victorious.
San Jose Earthquakes vs Chicago Fire - 02.00 BST
San Jose hasn't played a game in 2 weeks, this could be a good thing as they have been terrible before this mini-break and will be hoping a break was what they needed. Chicago on the other hand got a massive win midweek against Philadelphia. This was in small part due to the return of Shaqiri (8.1M) he is a vital part of Chicago and when the fit is needed for Chicago to push on. San Jose has Jeremy Ebobisse (11.2M) who has 9 goals this season and will need to keep adding to this to get San Jose up the league. Their main issue has been keeping clean sheets. I do expect goals here and either team could come away with the 3 points here, both need them.
TEAM REVEAL
As this contest allows multi entries, I will likely be entering different lineups. Here's an example of one of my lineups I will be entering using some of the players mentioned.
I hope this article has given you plenty of food for thought – especially for those of you that know very little about MLS but are playing in the MLS Main Event contest.
MLS Main Event cash contests start July 3rd at 22.00BST, so be sure to enter your lineups early to avoid missing out.
Please feel free to message me on Twitter @David_Bailey8 if you have any questions – all support queries should go to @FanTeamOfficial.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
If you're new to FanTeam then you'll need to create a new account here– alternatively, head on over to fanteam.com and click the green 'Register' button in the top right corner.
Existing users can click the graphic below for direct access to the weekly MLS Main event contests or head on over to the Football lobby.
Best of luck to everyone entering – I look forward to seeing your usernames on the Leaderboard.
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