The most significant factor in Round 25 will be fatigue affecting teams that played midweek Leagues Cup matches. The second most significant factor will be the absence on Lionel Messi, who is recovering from a knock and did not travel to Washington, DC. And if that weren’t enough, we have a boatload of transfers to navigate.
Leagues Cup Slog
Four MLS teams played on Wednesday night: Miami, Orlando, Seattle, and LA Galaxy. Everyone played at home except Orlando, who traveled across the country to Carson, CA, and everyone pretty much went full-strength. It might be prudent to target Orlando since they’re the only team that traveled for their midweek Leagues Cup match. Yes, it was a disappointing showing for Nashville last week, but this could be a perfect bounce-back opportunity for Hany Mukhtar & Co., and my rankings reflect that.
While the Sounders have one of the best clean sheet chances this round according to odds makers, I would recommend caution on relying on a full stack of Seattle defense as your bench fallbacks, as rotation and fatigue may play a significant factor. That said, I’ve still got them ranked highly, as the defensive options this round are rather bleak once again. I’m not buying into Atlanta, despite the bookies giving them decent odds. This is likely due to Toronto’s abysmal attacking stats up until now, but I believe in Mihailovic’s abilities, and Atlanta have allowed 2+ goals in their last five home matches.
Transfer Chaos
It was a busy summer transfer window for quite a few clubs. Even with the window now closed, we still might see some intra-league moves as teams shore up their rosters for their final push into the playoffs. At any rate, it’s best practice to familiarize yourself with who came into the league, who departed, and to give some serious thought to how these moves affect your fantasy assets. As always, check those lineups!
Note:(?) means the player might not start due to injury, lack of fitness, availability status or loss of starting spot. (OOP) means the player is expected to play out of position.(YCW) means the player is one caution away from suspension.
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