MLS Fantasy League: Week 11

Last week, I laid out the basic blueprint for scoring maximum points during Week 11. With any luck, at least half your squad is playing multiple games this round.

Here are the teams pulling double duty this week.

D.C. United- Houston, at Dallas
New York Red Bulls- Montreal, at New England
New England Revolution- Real Salt Lake, New York
Sporting Kansas City- Seattle, at Houston
FC Dallas- Portland, D.C. United
San Jose Earthquakes- Toronto, at Seattle
Montreal Impact- at New York, Real Salt Lake
Seattle Sounders- at Sporting Kansas City, San Jose
Portland Timbers- at Dallas, Chivas USA
Houston Dynamo- at D.C. United, Sporting Kansas City
Real Salt Lake- at New England, at Montreal

FC Dallas is one of two teams playing both games at home this week. Michel ($5.7m) should absolutely be on your roster as long as he's starting in the midifield, and Matt Hedges ($5.8) is an equally good pickup for his defensive bonus points.

David Ferriera ($9.0m) is hit or miss, but worth taking a chance on, as Drew points out over at Big D Soccer.

I agree. After a bit of a slump in points the past few games, I think he's due for a breakout. (I used this logic to justify keeping Claudio Bieler on my roster last week, and fortunately the gamble paid off) If Ferriera is too expensive, Andrew Jacobson ($6.4m) is one of the top five midfielders in Fantasy League in value and a more than solid pickup.

Edit: Jackson, Andrew Jacobson & George John are all unlikely to play on Wednesday, so adjust accordingly.

New England also plays twice at home this week. They've been efficient defensively, shutting out 5 teams in 8 matches. Offensively, they're terrible. (Methinks Jay Heaps has to figure out how to get Jerry Bengtson and Saer Sene on the field at the same time)

Jose Gonclaves ($5.8) is a smart buy. If cleared to play by Wednesday, Andrew Farrell ($5.0m) is another good choice.

Avoid D.C. United like the plague. I might also advise against picking anyone from Real Salt Lake as well. Wiith Alvaro Saborio still out, their offense isn't the same, and with both games on the road, it's hard to see anybody earning a lot of points.


Also, here are a few other things to think about when selecting your squad this week.

Make sure to use the "Minutes played" filter located on the transfer page. Ideally, you want players who are penciled in for 180 minutes of action, whatever the scoreline. Will Johnson ($8.0m) has played every minute this season and is averaging 4.8 points a game, so if you're looking for consistent points, pick him up.

Remember, the teams with more depth are more likely to rotate their squad and make early substituions. Brad Davis ($8.9m) is one of my favorite players to utilize in Fantasy League, but with the recent emergence of Andrew Driver ($7.4m), how much playing time he will receive is uncertain.

"Points per game" is another underrated filter that helps you gauge who the most consistent scorers are.

And finally, be careful not to make too many extra transfers. Most of the players I've recommended lately play on the road next week, so don't go too crazy trying to chase points. Good luck this week!

Team Name: Ben Fong-Torres FC (Almost Famous was on at the time)
Current rank: 974 (Up)