Sponsored by Sorare
The Sorare Academy goes Stateside one last time, with the return of European football only a week away.
Don’t forget that you can enter a team for free every week in the Sorare Academy and be in with a chance of winning a Limited card.
The deadline this week, as ever, is on Friday at 11am BST.
Guest writer Frip talks us through the fixtures for this coming weekend. You can find him on Twitter posting regular MLS injury, transfer and other news here.
Last gameweek
Fifteen more managers secured a Limited card prize last week. Top, out of 3,223 entrants, was Ig34 with this LAFC/Seattle/Columbus combo:
THIS GAMEWEEK
This week is one of those weeks in which the best teams have strong home match-ups again: LAFC, Nashville, and Philadelphia look promising right off the bat.
Seattle Sounders at LAFC
The summer transfer window is in full swing and LAFC had quite the rollercoaster with strong links to Luis Suarez (who has since signed with his childhood club Nacional in Uruguay). Now that the Suarez rumours are off the table, the table is set for Chichi Arango to take a swing at the Golden Boot. He has scored in seven of his last eight games.
Star-signing Gareth Bale also got on the scoresheet in his debut last weekend. There is currently no better front three in MLS than Bale, Carlos Vela, and Arango, which is great for Jose Cifuentes playing behind them. There are other elite midfield options this week but he’s there if you want to go with the LAFC stack. Even goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau and defender Giorgio Chiellini could be viable here.
Their opponent Seattle sits mid-table for goals conceded over the past six, far from the elite defence of earlier in the year. Seattle players have performed in that rough pasture but there are more appealing options elsewhere this week.
Houston Dynamo at Philadelphia Union
This home match-up for the league’s best defence is a great shout for a clean sheet this weekend. The Union have only allowed 15 goals in 22 games so far. Their defenders offer potential on both sides of the ball. You can go with centre-back Jakob Glesnes or full-back Kai Wagner and have great upside with both players. Andre Blake is the go-to option in goal, of course.
The Philadelphia offence could also produce in this one. Midfielder Daniel Gazdag and forward Michael Uhre have been in solid form lately and should be heavily involved.
Portland at Minnesota
Somehow, Minnesota United have quietly won five of their last six games. They have a good opportunity to make it six out of seven when Portland comes to visit this weekend. Playmaker Emmanuel Reynoso is looking questionable after he suffered an ankle injury in a friendly last week. Coach Adrian Heath said that he’s “hopeful” for Reynoso to feature on the weekend.
Besides him, though, Minnesota has a couple of appealing defensive options in ‘keeper Dayne St. Clair and centre-back Michael Boxall. Forwards Luis Amarilla and Franco Fragapane have been in decent form as well but there’s a slight rotation risk there. Portland have only won one of their last six on the road but their midfielders Diego Chara, Santiago Moreno, and Eryk Williamson have been in fine form throughout.
Toronto at New England
Toronto absolutely hit the ground running with their new signings last weekend. Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi both got on the scoresheet on their debuts. They’ll face their first big test in a visit to New England, who haven’t fully lived up to their potential this year. Nonetheless, this should be an entertaining game with some of MLS’ best attackers on both sides of the ball.
The home side will look to get back into form with Gustavo Bou back in the line-up with reigning MVP Carles Gil. Usually, I’d stay away from the away teams but it’s the last week of the summer, so let’s live a little. Toronto played in the Canadian Championship on Tuesday where both Bernardeschi and Insigne started but hopefully, neither of them gets rotated here.
FC Cincinnati at Inter Miami
Let’s end with another match-up that ranks highly on the “fun scale”. Both of these teams have recently found their form offensively but have also been known to leak goals from time to time. On Miami, you can’t look past new acquisition and #10 Alejandro Pozuelo. He should have excellent bonus potential and upside in this one.
The visiting Cincinnati will get a massive boost when playmaker Luciano Acosta returns after his three-game suspension. Just be cautious here, as he was spotted training on the side earlier this week. Brandon Vazquez has catapulted himself into the Golden Boot conversation as well with 11 goals this year.
OVER TO YOU!
So that’s it for now! I hope you’ve enjoyed dipping a toe into the MLS over the last few weeks? Don’t forget to submit your team before Friday’s 11am deadline – and good luck!
#ad
