Week four was a mix of good offense and solid defending as several players ran away with the scores. The international absences didn’t seem to have an effect on the league in general, but they did make fantasy points harder to come by.
Key Players in Week 4
Ike Opara – Sporting Kansas City: Opara’s textbook header was aided by the narrow field. Accompanying a 6 point fantasy goal with a clean sheet and 5 defensive points sees him comfortably at the top of this week’s list with 17 points.
Adatilion – Chicago Fire: Continuing on the trend of defensive goal scorers, Adatilion’s goal in Chicago’s shutout victory puts him in second place for the week at 13 points.
Kelyn Rowe – New England Revolution: Rowe scored the first goal for the Revolution in 2015 Saturday and added the second shortly after. A two goal performance sees him to 13 fantasy points for the week.
Kaka – Orland City SC: A goal and an assist for the Brazilian superstar were not enough for a victory against Montreal, but more than adequate for fantasy owners in a 12 point performance.
Matt Besler – Sporting Kansas City: Opara’s goal was assisted by the dangerous long throw by Matt Besler. Sharing in the clean sheet with an assist puts Besler in top five for the weekend with 12 points.
Players Unavailable in Week 5
Fabian Espindola - DC United: Suspended until 4/25
Zach Pfeffer – Philadelphia Union: Red Card and Suspension
Frederico Higuain – Columbus Crew: Red Card
Kellyn Acosta – FC Dallas: Red Card
Fred – Philadelphia Union: Red Card and Serious Foul Play unavailable until 4/16
Luke Moore – Toronto FC: Serious Foul Play
Teams on Bye
Columbus Crew, Montreal Impact, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls
Injury Watch
Clint Dempsey – Seattle Sounders: Out – Hamstring
Obafemi Martins – Seattle Sounders: Questionable – Did not play 3/28
Graham Zusi – Sporting Kansas City: Out – Hamstring injury
Sebastian Jaime - Real Salt Lake: Out - Tibia Fracture
Mauro Rosales – Vancouver Whitecaps: Out – Right ankle sprain.
Wil Trapp – Columbus Crew SC: Questionable – Calf strain
Ricardo Clark – Houston Dynamo: Doubtful - right costochondral fracture
Jack Jewsbuty – Portland Timbers: Questionable – Concussion symptoms
Teal Bunbury – New England Revolution: Questionable – Has resumed training
Osvaldo Alonso – Seattle Sounders: Questionable – Has resumed training
For a full list of injuries, please check out Homar Hernandez's full analysis here.
Week 5 Breakdown
Tyler Deric has been nearly perfect in goal for Houston with a game costing own goal marring his record. But facing a Seattle side without Dempsey and Martins looking doubtful makes him a prime goalkeeper candidate.
Sporting Kansas City’s defense looks to be back in championship form. Matt Besler is a solid start, but Ike Opara is where the real value lies. He has two of the team’s three goals and is a leading candidate for Defender of the Year. Look for another good showing against a weakened Philadelphia Union.
Toronto FC’s high powered offense will prove to be a big test for the Chicago Fire defense that stepped up last weekend against the Union. This week, don’t expect the same.
Colorado’s defense has looked deceptively good for fantasy this season, but a Revolution team that has ended the beginning of the season drought will be hungry for more. Without Axel Sjoberg this week, Colorado likely won’t keep a clean sheet.
It’s time to start looking forward. Week 6 starts double game weeks in the fantasy game. Taking advantage of guys playing 180 minutes for four points plus whatever stats they get can make or break your season. Columbus and Vancouver each play two games in week six.
Value Pickup for Week 3
Atiba Harris – FC Dallas: A solid defender in a great system. He will be picking up points with the teammates Matt Hedges and a Zach Lloyd, but at $6.0m, he’s the cheapest of the bunch. It’s hard to argue against a player from the league’s best team.
Potential High Value Drop
Dom Dwyer – Sporting Kansas City: At $10.3 and without a goal or an assist, it’s hard to justify the production with so many other strikers coming on hot. He will turn it around, but the price loss before he does may not be worth it. It’s a gamble, but if he continues to slide, you can pick him up cheaper later; possibly for less than $10.0.