It's a busy week in Major League Soccer, with five games on Wednesday in addition to the usual 12 over the weekend. That means a whopping 10 teams will play twice -- and you should focus on them when building your fantasy lineup. In particular, three teams will play two home games this week: D.C. United, Atlanta United and the Montreal Impact. As a result, I'll be picking players from all three of those teams.
However, my Tier 1 forward and captain will not come from one of those sides. Instead, I'm going with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is second in the league in both goals (9) and expected goals (10.34) behind only Carlos Vela (15 goals, 12.00 xG). His numbers are even more impressive given he's only played in 10 games so far this season.
Ibrahimovic is coming off a two-game suspension, so I would expect him to start both games this week. The LA Galaxy are underdogs at Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, but Sporting KC had gone winless in seven games prior to their 3-2 victory over the Seattle Sounders on Sunday and lost center back Matt Besler to injury in that game. The Galaxy's second game this week is at home against the New England Revolution, who have already conceded 32 goals this season, tying them with the Colorado Rapids for most in the league.
Josef Martinez and Wayne Rooney are the other two players I considered at Tier 1 forward. Both scored goals this past weekend -- in Atlanta's 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake and D.C.'s 1-1 draw at New England. Sadly, both Martinez (6 goals, 7.74 xG) and Rooney (8 goals, 7.31 xG) are well behind Ibrahimovic production-wise, despite both playing over 250 minutes more than him so far this season.
I also considered Gonzalo Martinez at Tier 2 forward, with Atlanta being strong favorites against both Minnesota United on Wednesday and the Chicago Fire on Saturday. But Martinez hasn't lived up to the hype so far, with just one goal in his first 12 appearances. He didn't even start against RSL on Friday, and he's only started eight games so far this season.
Instead, I'm going with the hot hand -- or, to be more accurate, the hot left foot -- of Johnny Russell, coming off a hat trick against Seattle on Sunday. Russell now has seven goals and three assists in 12 appearances. Sporting KC's schedule isn't easy as they'll play at Houston after hosting the Galaxy, but I still think Russell is the best of the double matchweek options in this tier.
Triple play
There are only three double matchweek options at Tier 1 midfielder: Saphir Taider, Aleksandar Katai, and Luciano Acosta. Chicago is facing a very difficult week, playing at D.C. and at Atlanta, so that rules out Katai for me. Meanwhile, Acosta is having a very disappointing season, with just three goals and one assist in 15 appearances, after finishing with 10 goals and 15 assists one year ago. That leaves Taider, who scored his fourth goal of the season in Montreal's 4-2 loss at LAFC on Friday. It was his first goal since March 30, but it was also a penalty kick -- and Acosta doesn't handle penalties for D.C. That gives Taider an edge, at least for me, with both players having two home games this week.
At Tier 2 midfielder, I'm taking Haris Medunjanin -- a highly productive player, despite not having yet scored a goal this season. Medunjanin is third in the league in passes completed, averaging 64.8 per game. He had a team-high 90 passes completed and four chances created in Philadelphia's 3-1 loss to Portland on Saturday -- and 92 passes completed and five chances created against Seattle the week before. The Union, currently in second in the Eastern Conference (but first in points per game), are strong favorites at home against Colorado on Wednesday, and then have essentially a pick 'em game at Minnesota on Sunday.
In fact, I'm going with another Philadelphia player at Tier 3 midfielder. Alejandro Bedoya only has two goals, but he also has a relatively high floor. He had 71 passes completed against Portland. The Union should have lots of the ball against both Colorado and Minnesota, who are both in the bottom three in the league in possession percentage, at 44.6 and 44.8 percent, respectively.
Other picks
Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Atlanta (Tier 1 defender): He's ranked eighth in the league in passes completed -- and second among defenders (behind LAFC's Eddie Segura) -- averaging 60.8 per game. Plus, Atlanta are tops in the league in possession (58.1 percent) and have two home games this week.
Frederic Brillant, D.C. (Tier 2 defender): He leads the league in clearances with 91, seven more than teammate Steve Birnbaum in second place. Brillant is also averaging more than a shot per game. In fact, he took four shots against New England on Saturday.
Bill Hamid, D.C. (Goalkeeper): He leads the league in clean sheets, with seven in 15 games. Hamid is also the league-leader in saves, with 53. With two home games this week, D.C. has conceded just 14 goals this season. Only LAFC (11), Atlanta (11), Houston (13) and NYCFC (13) have conceded fewer.