Defenses rose to the challenge yet again as another fantasy week full of shutouts rolls by. With only eight games over the weekend, nine teams were shut out and only three teams scored two goals.
Key Players in Week 3
Bradley Wright-Phillips – New York Red Bulls: Wright-Phillips finally got on the score sheet with his first goal and assist in the rivalry match with DC United. His 13 points in week 3 led the league.
Ty Harden – San Jose: Harden led all defenders this week by a small margin. His assist against the Fire gave him the boost he needed to stand out above the rest with 12 points.
Defenders in General: Only five midfielders and one forward earned spots in the top 50 scorers this weekend. Defenders and goalkeepers rule the weekend with more than 40 scoring 8 or more points.
Players Unavailable for Week 4
Fabian Espindola – DC United: Suspension, 4 games left
Justin Morrow – Toronto FC: Red Card
Hassoun Camara – Montreal Impact: Red Card
Shay Facey – New York City FC: Red Card
Zach Pfeffer – Philadelphia Union: Red Card
International Duty
MLS will be missing over 50 players in week four due to international call-ups. Some key players are listed below, but you can find a full listing of unavailable players this weekend here.
- Shaun Maloney – Chicago Fire
- Blas Perez – FC Dallas
- Robbie Keane – LA Galaxy
- Gyasi Zardes – LA Galaxy
- Laurent Ciman – Montreal Impact
- Brek Shea – Orlando City
- Nick Rimando – Real Salt Lake
- Alvaro Saborio – Real Salt Lake
- Jozy Altidore – Toronto FC
- Michael Bradley – Toronto FC
- Clint Dempsey – Seattle Sounders: Injured during training
Teams on Bye
None
Injury Watch
AJ Delegarza – LA Galaxy: Questionable – ankle injury
Roy Miller – New York Red Bulls: Questionable – Knee sprain
Jean-Baptiste Perrazi – San Jose Earthquakes: Questionable – Did not play 3/22
Krisztian Nemeth – Sporting Kansas City: Out - Knee Injury
Steven Caldwell – Toronto FC: Out – Achilles Injury
Mauro Rosales – Vancouver Whitecaps: Questionable - Ankle sprain
Sam Adekugbe – Vancouver Whitecaps: Out – Rib injury
For a full list of MLS injures, please check out Homar Hernandez’s full analysis here.
Week 4 Breakdown
With so many players absent, depth will be tested. Finding guys that will start is key.
Avoiding Orlando City, FC Dallas, and Toronto FC players in your lineup may be a good idea as their squads got hit hardest by the international weekend.
Start DC United’s defense. With both Keane and Zardes gone from LA, DC’s defense should have an easier time keeping the clean sheet.
Although RSL will be missing Nick Rimando for the Toronto FC match, Toronto is missing two of their three key players in Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore. This may be the week for Sebastian Giovinco to go off, but I would trust the defenses in this matchup.
Playing anyone from Seattle is probably a good idea, especially Obafemi Martins. FC Dallas will be stripped of key players and should be easy pickings for fantasy points for one of the best teams in the league.
San Jose is set to play the New England Revolution and David Bingham looks to be in great form. With the Revs not scoring, he’s a prime candidate for a shutout. Innocent Emeghara and Chris Wondolowski can both score goals in this one as well and New England gave up five in the first two, but finally managed a shutout against a thin Montreal lineup last weekend.
Value Pickup for Week 4
Davy Arnaud – DC United: The long time MLS veteran is showing why he starts consistently and his fantasy stats aren’t bad either. At $6.6, he’s a welcome addition if you need another midfielder or want to shave some cost.
Potential High Value Drop
Frederico Higuain – Columbus Crew: The Argentine striker may be losing spot as the lead goalscorer in Columbus. While still a great player, the addition of Kei Kamara as led to Higuain being the playmaker which isn’t great for fantasy scores. At $10.4, you can find more production elsewhere.