Sponsored by Sorare
The Sorare Academy returns again after a turbulent Fourth of July weekend that featured an eight-goal thriller in DC, a match-winning golazo in Vancouver and several perfect 100 scores from Jamiro Monteiro, Dylan Nealis and Andre Blake.
Our guest writer Frip will take us through the fixtures for this coming weekend. You can find him on Twitter posting regular MLS injury, transfer, and other news here.
Once you’ve read his tips below you can enter your own team for free ahead of the Friday deadline at 11am BST.
Last gameweek
A total of 15 managers secured a prize in a high-scoring Gameweek last week. Top of the leaderboard was manager Heekaa with this team:
Picking two players to hit 100 points is impressive, especially when one of them is a goalkeeper!
This Gameweek
This weekend is rivalry week. “El Tráfico” in Los Angeles, the Rocky Mountain Cup between Salt Lake and Colorado, a Cascadia Cup match-up between Portland and Seattle, and more.
El Tráfico – LAFC vs LA Galaxy
The LA derby is the marquee match-up of the weekend. This rivalry has produced some of the most memorable moments in MLS, from Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s debut brace to an eight-goal play-off showdown, this is a match that you won’t want to miss! What better way to get excited for this one than to add some skin into the game with your Sorare Academy picks?
LAFC go into this weekend as favourites and offer great options on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Carlos Vela is still their key figure and this is his stage to shine. In the midfield, Jose Cifuentes is a solid addition as he’s scored well in the All-Around category and has the goal/assist threat needed to reach the higher scores. Diego Palacios is my defensive pick from LAFC as he was specifically rested for this match because he is one yellow card away from a suspension. He’s a defender that can grab points on both sides of the ball.
Dejan Joveljic and Efrain Alvarez are the players I’d want to back from the other side of LA. History has shown that this match-up is full of goals and these two are both key to the Galaxy offence.
I-5 Derby | DC United at Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia still has one of the best defences in the league and they are hosting DC United in the I-5 derby this weekend. Goalkeeper Andre Blake is coming off a 100-point performance with a penalty save against Columbus last weekend.
DC United currently sit bottom of the MLS form table, having lost four of their last five. This is a solid opportunity on both ends of the pitch for Kai Wagner. He has been quiet recently and this match-up is perfect for him to get back on the scoresheet again.
New York Red Bulls at FC Cincinnati
This is the first non-rivalry game to target this weekend and it’s a good one for Cincinnati. Luciano Acosta has been nothing short of on fire in recent weeks. He’s racked up five assists and a goal in his last five games. A home game against the Red Bulls is very enticing and perhaps good enough to double up on Cincy’s offence with Brenner. The Brazilian has also found his form with five goals in as many games recently.
San Jose Earthquakes at Toronto FC
There’s no rivalry here either, however, this game will still be one to remember as record signing Lorenzo Insigne is set to debut. The Italian has been in Toronto and training with the team for the past weeks and should be ready to go on Saturday. He’s still not 100% nailed to start just yet, so Jesus Jimenez might be a safer selection at forward. Carlos Salcedo is your best bet if you want to back the Toronto defence this weekend.
San Jose’s Jamiro Monteiro did put up a clean 100 last weekend and his 69 average is noteworthy, even if he’s on the road here. Toronto’s defence is still quite leaky, as they are tied for the sixth-most goals allowed over the last six matches.
Columbus Crew at Chicago Fire
We’ve covered a lot of offensive firepower so far and this match-up is my defensive pick of the week. Chicago’s young goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina might be close to moving to Europe, but until anything is announced he still has a solid defence in front of him for MLS play.
The Columbus offence has been anaemic at best over the last five games where they only scored five goals. This is a prime clean sheet opportunity for Slonina and defender Rafael Czichos.
Over to you!
Perhaps you fancy some of the other MLS high-flyers, like Orlando’s Mauricio Pereyra, who has the highest last-five average of any player in the league right now with 73 points per game, or someone else altogether?
Whoever you choose, make sure you submit your team before Friday’s 11am deadline – and good luck!
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