KFC’s MLS Fantasy Player Roundup – Week 28

It’s been a while eah? Sorry for not posting one of these sooner, it’s down to just me at KFC and with starting a new job recently, I’ve not had quite as much time as before. But you all did not come here to read some sob story did you? Let’s get on to the good stuff.

There are two bits of news that you’ll want to keep in mind. 1) Week 29 is another double game week so you’ll want to keep that in mind when making your player choices. In my opinion, it stacks up about as well as the last one, but you could still find some worthwhile players. 2) Week 29 also marks the beginning on the next World Cup Qualifying round. Be sure to checkout our list of MLS callus before picking your team HERE. With that in mind, lets start talking playes.

If you want to see more, keep reading after the break. But please join the discussion at r/FantasyMLS, that’s where a lot of planning is made and last second decisions finalized. If you have questions, please stop by!

Goalkeepers:

Our top pick for keepers this week is Michael Gspurning (7.1% @ $5.5m). Not only is he an excellent differential pick, but also his away game in Week 28 is against a weakened Columbus team and he has two home games in Week 29. The stat to keep in mind for Columbus is that Higuain has been involved in 10 of their 14 home goals… and he’ll be out with a red card.

After Gspurning, the picks become pretty obvious. It’s hard not to bet against DC, at home or away, and with Luis Robles (8.3% @ $5.9) also still being the top point-earning Keeper, he’s an easy start. On the slightly cheaper end is Jimmy Nielsen (10.5% @ $5.7m), SKC have improved their home record over the past few weeks and while Colorado as been doing well on the road, the numbers do point toward SKC.

If you’re really set to find a budget differential for the rest of the season, take a look at both LA’s Jaime Penedo (1.2% @ $4.9m) and Vancouver’s David Ousted (0.8% @ $4.5%). Both are on teams that play well at home and have promising matches this week.

Defenders:

As I mentioned above, it’s hard not be bet against DC United. So my first defensive pick is Markus Holgersson (10.1% @ $5.0m). Holgerson is a very reasonable price and with Olave being injured, could get racking up some good bonus numbers. If you’re looking for a real differential pic, take a look at Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (3.2% @ $4.3m). He missed a few games recently, but he played for Seattle last week and went right back to putting up impressive numbers.

If you want to stick with the more offensive minded defenders, then there are three options: Rodney Wallace (15.0% @ $5.4m), Sheanon Williams (7.7% @ $5.3%), and Chris Klute (14.7% @ $5.4) Not all of these players have home games this week, but they have impressive goal, assist, and offensive numbers that make them worth a risk this late in the season.

I’ll assume we all know the big names by now and having a couple of them on your team should be standard by now, but that also means that you’re not going to gain much ground by relying on them.

Midfielders:

Is this the week for Clint Dempsey (7.1% @ $9.4m)? Not in my opinion. Columbus may be ripe for the picking without Higuain, but Dempsey has just not hit form yet that makes him attractive, but if you want to risk it, he does have two home games next week. I think sticking with some of the more proven names is a better bet. Landon Donovan (17.1% @ $10.5m) and Mike Magee (31.8% @ $9.4%) are still two of the best picks for this week since they are each playing teams that have struggles on the road. But these guys are highly owned, and you’ll need to find some differentials to climb the ranks. Kelyn Rowe (6.0% @ $5.4m) has been hot the last couple of weeks and with a game against Toronto, there is a good chance he will add to his point total. With Tim Cahill (5.8% @ $7.9m) coming back off the injury list last week, he’s an easy tap for a good game against DC.

Forwards:

If you have not given it a try yet, this is one of the weeks that seems worth having 3 forwards and with Higuain on a red card, I sure many people are looking for a replacement for him (unless you’re eating the price drops). Camilo Sanvezzo (17.0% @ $9.1m) is one obvious replacement. The last couple of weeks have not been good for him, but home against Chivas looks very promising. If you are looking for a more differential replacement, Will Bruin (7.0% @ $8.6m) is a tempting option. He’s on a good run of form but away has never been very kind to Houston. You could also look at Eddie Johnson (7.2% @ $9.7m) who seems to be benefiting from Obafemi’s absence. Johnson and Bruin also have the added temptation of having double games next week

Oh and may as well round out my DC bashing by tapping Thierry Henry.

Final thoughts

• Sorry DC.

• Be ready for the WCQ callus so you don’t get hit too hard with -4s.

• A few DGW teams look good for a three game ride.

• Caparoo is totally an option this week?

These are our picks, if you think there should be more names on this list, please leave a comment or come to r/FantasyMLS and comment on the post. You can also leave a message on our Facebook page or you can find us on Twitter @FantasyMLSTips. Keep checking back for more updates through the week for other positions. Good Luck!