2018 Round 25 Captain’s conundrum

Round 25 in the MLS gets underway tonight, So I have taken a look at the best options to make your Fantasy captain this week. Picking the right captain this week , could see you claw back points on the leaders of your league , or even extend the gap at the top. Here’s my top four picks for this week.

Carlos Vela / LAFC / $10.3 Million / vs RSL and Colorado (H)

Carlos Vela should be well rested after only playing 30 minutes at the weekend against SKC. The forward had started LAFC’s last two games prior to their round 24 defeat to SKC. Which may be a sign the Mexican will start both games this week for LAFC.
Vela has two chances this round to add to his season tally of goals which currently sits at eight . However the forward has only scored one goal since his return from the World Cup, so Vela is surely due a hot streak soon.

LAFC and Vela should be targeting these two games as winnable, defeat at the weekend stretched their winless run to five games. However RSL will be no push overs. Real Salt Lake have only conceded two goals in their last three games , though LAFC did put five past RSL earlier in the season. Their second game of the round is against Colorado who are probably on their best run of the season with two back to back wins in their last two games. However Colorado have conceded six goals in their last four games , which should offer hope to Vela and LAFC.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic / LA Galaxy / $11.5 Million / vs Colorado (H) and Seattle (A)

The Swede couldn’t follow up his hat trick in his last game for the Galaxy, however Zlatan Ibrahimovic did offer value when he popped up with an assist against Minnesota in round 24. Though Zlatan did fail to score last week , you would expect the forward to score in one of the two games this round.

The Galaxy face Colorado first in round 25 , who are on a two game winning streak. However the Rapids haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last four games , So Ibra will worry Colorado. Seattle away should offer LA Galaxy a tougher test. Though they have concede at least one goal in their three games.

Diego Valeri / Portland / $12 Million / vs DC United and SKC (A)

Diego Valeri has earned fantasy owners 30 points in the last two rounds and has two good opportunities to continue his great form. Three goals and two assists in his last four games is a excellent return from the midfielder. However he does come with a high price tag of $12 million, which may be a big put off for many managers.

This round Portland travel to SKC , however first they play DC United at home . DC will be encouraged after their dramatic win over Orlando City. But alternately United haven’t kept a clean sheet in 14 matches which is not a good look for any team at any level. On the other hand SKC have kept back to back clean sheets in their last two games. Valeri and Portland should be all in against DC United at home, while any points against SKC will be a bonus frpm Valeri but a good captain option just for the match up alone against DC.

Luciano Acosta / DC United / $9 Million / vs Portland and New England (H)

Hat trick hero Luciano Acosta will be hoping he can continue his current hot streak in to round 25 .His hat trick against Orlando was somewhat out of character .The last time Acosta found the back of the net in the league was round 3 , ending a 17 game goal scoring drought.

Selecting him this week as your captain will be a gamble , but if you subscribe to the theory that DC are turning a corner and United along with Acosta are bang inform then he is a feasible option this week. Portland head into the match , off the back of a 2-1 defeat against the Whitecaps and New England haven’t won a game in six attempts since beating DC on July first . So certainty chances for Acosta to pick up points this round.