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The LA Galaxy entered the off-season with major questions that would affect their MLS Fantasy relevance in 2020. Zlatan Ibrahimovic departed, Romain Alessandrini was out of contract and had just recovered from an extended injury. The defense was in shambles. Dennis te Kloese and Guillermo Barros Schelotto had their work cut out for them.
In typical LA Galaxy DP signings, entire Javier Chicharito Hernandez with all the fanfare and banter you’d expect when the face of the Mexican National Team for the past half-decade leaves Europe for one of the flagship teams in MLS.
Aleksander Katai arrives from the Chicago Fire as a like-for-like replacement for Alessandrini. Sacha Kljestan returns home to California as a free agent to provide some depth in the midfield. Outside backs Danilo Acosta and Emiliano Insua have arrived from Real Salt Lake and VfB Stuttgart respectively to help improve the defense.
Tactics & Key Players
Expect this team to fully embrace GBS’s 4-3-3 system and playing the ball on the ground like his Boca Juniors team did. The front three of Cristian Pavon, Chicharito, and Katai to be involved the buildup. Expect lots of second assists, key passes, from these three as well as some of the midfielders.
Sebastian Lletget should be reasonability priced and the most attacking of the midfield three. Jonathan dos Santos won’t be in many highlight reels this season but if his price doesn’t jump too high, he’ll be Mr. Consistent as far as passing and defensive bonuses.
Then there’s the defense. Dave Romney was traded to Nashville SC. The club did re-sign Daniel Steres and bring in some fullback options. There’s some cheap depth up from LA Galaxy II. That said, David Bingham is still going to be in over his head. The Gs will be looking to win shootouts.
Don’t expect many clean sheets from this defense nor goals from defenders. If a starter is cheap and has a favorable matchup at home, the might be worth it. Focus on the front six when it comes to Fantasy.
Notable Changes
It’s all about Chicharito and Katai. Expectations will be high given who he’s replacing as the Galaxy’s center forward. Katai was productive in Chicago all things considered so he should have a good year give the players around him. Sacha Kljestan won’t be expected to start but when he does start (say during a DGW), can he be productive?
My general answer is that all of these players will be good. But will the Galaxy have one or two must have players no matter the week in MLS Fantasy? Outside of Pavon, that question is still in doubt.
Fantasy Expectations
The offense should run through Pavon. No matter what anyone else is doing, he should put up points. When this offense is clicking, you should have at least two Galaxy players starting in your team. Any of the front three will be a good shout. Your midfield selections will probably depend on price.
Expect Pavon to have the highest points/start on the team. Chicharito should be a good choice at forward with a good matchup at home. Stay away from the defense for now to see if GBS can find something that works. This could mean rotating who plays and how they play.
Predicted XI
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