Fantasy Soccer Advice

MLS Fantasy Week 26 Positional Rankings

Itā€™s now or never with just two rounds to go in MLS Fantasy. A jam-packed Week 26 starts on Tuesday with LAFC hosting the Seattle Sounders (10:30 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes), so be sure to have players from that game set before the round kicks off.

Thereā€™s sure to be plenty of drama over the next two weeks as the Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoff picture becomes clearer. Zeroing in on whatā€™s at stake and who has something left to play for at this point in the season could pay off in the form of fantasy points, so letā€™s take a closer look at the top options and value plays for Week 26.

Get more advice on the MLS Fantasy Insider Round 26 preview podcast

Teams NOT on a DGW: ATX, CHI, HOU, LAFC, MTL, NE, POR, VAN

Goalkeepers

Brad Guzan has arguably the best schedule of goalkeepers, with two home game this round, as Atlantaā€™s schedule couldnā€™t be much more favorable as they go in search of a spot in the playoffs. First up is a matchup against an Inter Miami side that Atlanta shut out on September 29 before hosting a Toronto FC unit that Guzan posted a clean sheet against just two games ago.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Brad Guzan
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$9.2
2. Sean Johnson
NYC
vs. CHI, at MIA
$8.2
3. Joe Willis
NSH
at CIN, at ORL
$10.0
4. Carlos Coronel
RBNY
at DC, vs. MTL
$8.8
5. Pedro Gallese
ORL
at CLB, vs. NSH
$7.7
Value Goalkeepers
Value Goalkeepers
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Bill Hamid
DC
vs. RBNY, vs. CLB
$6.5
2. Jimmy Maurer
DAL
vs. RSL, vs. ATX
$5.6
3. David Ochoa
RSL
at DAL, vs. SJ
$6.7

Defenders

The tricky part about lineup building this week is determining which pieces of Atlanta we want to lean on. With the MLS Fantasy rules allowing a three-player per team maximum, a viable strategy could be to go for players that could pay dividends on both ends of the field. Enter Brooks Lennon, who has five assists on the season and continues to get involved going forward.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Brooks Lennon
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$9.1
2. Kai Wagner
PHI
at TOR, vs. CIN
$10.3
3. George Bello
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$8.0
4. Miles Robinson
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$9.5
5. Jack Elliott
PHI
at TOR, vs. CIN
$9.0
6. Andrew Gutman
RBNY
at DC, vs. MTL
$9.3
7. Maxime Chanot
NYC
vs. CHI, at MIA
$8.2
8. Walker Zimmerman
NSH
at CIN, at ORL
$10.1
9. Alan Franco
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$8.2
10. Ryan Hollingshead
DAL
vs. RSL, vs. ATX
$7.2
Value Defenders
Value Defenders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Alex Roldan
SEA
at LAFC, vs. LA
$6.0
2. Malte Amundsen
NYC
vs. CHI, at MIA
$4.0
3. Donovan Pines
DC
vs. RBNY, vs. CLB
$5.4

Midfielders

Marcelino Moreno has found the next in back-to-back games, amassing 24 fantasy points over those two matches. Ezequiel Barcoā€™s return from suspension could eat into Morenoā€™s production, but with two juicy matchups and Atlanta fighting for their playoff lives, there should be plenty of fantasy goodness to go around.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Marcelino Moreno
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$11.7
2. Hany Mukhtar
NSH
at CIN, at ORL
$12.2
3. Ezequiel Barco
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$9.3
4. Emanuel Reynoso
MIN
at VAN, vs. SKC
$11.1
5. Albert Rusnak
RSL
at DAL, vs. SJ
$10.4
6. Jamiro Monteiro
PHI
at TOR, vs. CIN
$9.5
7. Julian Gressel
DC
vs. RBNY, vs. CLB
$10.5
8. Maxi Moralez
NYC
vs. CHI, at MIA
$9.3
9. Luiz Araujo
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$9.1
10. Damir Kreilach
RSL
at DAL, vs. SJ
$10.6
11. Jack Price
COL
at NE, at HOU
$10.3
12. Lucas Zelarayan
CLB
vs. ORL, at DC
$9.1
13. Carles Gil
NE
vs. COL
$11.1
14. Nani
ORL
at CLB, vs. NSH
$7.9
15. Cristian Casseres Jr.
RBNY
at DC, vs. MTL
$7.7
16. Cristian Roldan
SEA
at LAFC, vs. LA
$8.1
17. Franco Fragapane
MIN
at VAN, vs. SKC
$10.9
18. Luciano Acosta
CIN
vs. NSH, at PHI
$9.8
19. Robin Lod
MIN
at VAN, vs. SKC
$10.9
20. Chofis Lopez
SJ
at POR, at RSL
$8.6
Value Midfielders
Value Midfielders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Daniel Gazdag
PHI
at TOR, vs. CIN
$5.5
2. Chris Mueller
ORL
at CLB, vs. NSH
$5.4
3. Federico Higuain
MIA
at ATL, vs. NYC
$4.0

Forwards

Taty Castellanos bagged a brace in New York City FCā€™s 6-0 romp at D.C. United on Saturday, forcing his name into the Golden Boot presented by Audi conversation. He currently trails D.C.ā€™s Ola Kamara by just two goals, and a pair of favorable matchups (vs. CHI, at MIA) presents a good opportunity for the NYCFC hitman to close the gap.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Taty Castellanos
NYC
vs. CHI, at MIA
$10.8
2. Josef Martinez
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$8.9
3. Kacper Przybylko
PHI
at TOR, vs. CIN
$6.9
4. Johnny Russell
SKC
vs. LA, at MIN
$11.0
5. Ola Kamara
DC
vs. RBNY, vs. CLB
$9.1
6. Chicharito
LA
at SKC, at SEA
$10.0
7. Gonzalo Higuain
MIA
at ATL, vs. NYC
$8.3
8. Daryl Dike
ORL
at CLB, vs. NSH
$8.7
9. Jesus Ferreira
DAL
vs. RSL, vs. ATX
$10.0
10. Cristian Arango
LAFC
vs. SEA
$9.2
Value Forwards
Value Forwards
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Patryk Klimala
RBNY
at DC, vs. MTL
$6.6
2. Franco Jara
DAL
vs. RSL, vs. ATX
$4.2
3. Jeremy Ebobisse
SJ
at POR, at RSL
$5.9
Captain
Captain
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Marcelino Moreno
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$11.7
2. Ezequiel Barco
ATL
vs. MIA, vs. TOR
$9.3
3. Valentin Castellanos
NYC
vs. CHI, at MIA
$10.8