LAFC 2022 Preview

Previous Year Recap

Last season was as paradoxical as it can get – highest expected goal value in league history, yet missed the playoffs on a supremely disappointing final day. Plenty has been written, and hedged, about LAFC as the most mercurial preseason team to predict, but here’s what will be written come October: this is a remarkably similar iteration of the franchise in its fifth year that has recorded a league-best average expected points per match. Head Coach Steve Cherundolo, despite just his single year of experience for a six-win Las Vegas Lights USL squad, was picked by GM John Thorrington and the rest of the LAFC brass to continue the club’s ethos; new Toronto FC manager Bob Bradley’s experience and tactical awareness aside, this team will operate almost identically to the previous four seasons, though it is hoped by the LAFC faithful that Cherundolo can bring a bit more defensive acumen to the table since that was the club’s undoing in 2021.

Fantasy Players to Watch

The most impactful piece of the 2022 puzzle is that Carlos Vela is expected to return fully healthy from Day One for the first time in two years. Last time those words rang true, he orchestrated the best single season in league history, with a record 34 goals and 15 assists. Now reportedly auditioning for a late-career return to Europe, his return to full health alone should be able to mitigate the losses of Eduard Atuesta, Corey Baird and Diego Rossi, as well as the imminent departure of Brian Rodriguez, who shockingly will begin the season with the club but is expected to be long gone come the summer transfer window.

Christian Arango returns as the other major name on the roster, though his production can be expected to take a significant step back through ceding penalties to Vela. Rodriguez will be raring to prove his superb underlying statistics can equal production to earn that expected big-money move to Europe. Best to wait and see which between those two carries more influence in the opening couple games, as Vela will likely regain his dominance atop the hierarchy. What has somehow flown under the radar is the addition of former NYCFC winger Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, who racked up 29 goals and seven assists in four years of part-time work. Whether as a super-sub, alternating starts with Rodriguez or, if Cherundolo gets clever, as part of a terrifying front-four with Vela in the center of the park pulling strings, he will be worth a look in certain matchups and a near-must have should injury befall any of the top three.

In the midfield, the additions of Kellyn Acosta and Ilie Sanchez could well form the league’s most game-controlling defensive midfield, which will open 2021 breakout Jose Cifuentes to make the most of his exceptional physical, passing and long-range shooting tools as he bombs forward to the top of the box with regularity. Expect him to take another step forward in his development this season, while Acosta outshines Sanchez from a fantasy perspective as the latter adopts more of a deep-lying maestro/destroyer hybrid role.

The defense has been almost completely revamped, both by necessity and strong suggestion. Eddie Segura begins the year injured so Jesus David Murillo will be the main man in central defense. Regardless where possibly the league’s brightest defensive prospect, Mamadou Fall, lines up between center and left back, he has shown a strong propensity to sprint forward with or without the ball and has as impactful a knack for connecting headers on corners as anyone in the league, so will be an above-average punt for attacking statistics along with what should be a stronger defensive record. Moves for Franco Escobar and Ryan Hollingshead significantly enhance the quality of both flanks, with the ultra-high upside Diego Palacios and too-forward focused Kim Moon-Hwan returning now as more depth pieces, suddenly have this as one of the deepest defensive units in MLS. Lest we forget the addition of Maxime Crepeau, a consensus top-5 goalkeeper only available due to personal reasons, this defense could well fully unlock the offense for a season never before seen in the league. Still, as much success as the defense experiences, in this system that will only carry over more to the offense than necessarily return clean sheets – expect a plethora of 3-1 score lines this season.

Potential Starting XI