Fantasy MLS: Wednesday-Thursday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EDT)

Wednesday, 10:30 p.m: Seattle Sounders v. Houston Dynamo
Thursday, 8:30 p.m: Chicago Fire v. Columbus Crew
Thursday, 9:00 p.m: Colorado Rapids v. San Jose Earthquakes

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Seattle Sounders: Andras Ivanschitz, Nicolas Lodeiro, Herculez Gomez
Houston Dynamo: Cristian Maidana
Chicago Fire: John Goossens, Arturo Alvarez
Columbus Crew: Mohammed Saeid
Colorado Rapids: Shkelzen Gashi
San Jose Earthquakes: Simon Dawkins

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

Tim Howard, COL v. SJE: Colorado are still very much in the hunt for the Supporters' Shield, but they have to continue winning matches to stay in the race. They are the only undefeated home team this season and now face an Earthquakes side that has one win away from Avaya Stadium (in fairness, it was their previous road match). In addition to not winning many road matches, the Earthquakes have scored just 13 times as the away team, the third-lowest mark in the league (Sporting KC and Portland have each scored 12 times on the road). Paying up for Seattle's Stefan Frei simply doesn't seem necessary given Howard's matchup.

DEFENDER

Tyrone Mears, SEA v. HOU: There aren't many great defender options over the three-game slate, especially with top choice Harrison Afful away on international duty. The Sounders have the best clean sheet odds, which should automatically make fantasy players turn to Joevin Jones, but he's away on international duty too. Moving to the other side makes just as much sense, as Mears sent in five crosses in their last match and could be the fullback of choice to join the attack against a weak Dynamo defense.

Dylan Remick, SEA v. HOU: Sticking with the Sounders, Remick looks likely to start in place of Jones, and he'll have an excellent matchup against a Houston side that's at the bottom of the Western conference and has been incredibly inconsistent all season. The Dynamo played Saturday night as well, which could cause some squad rotation for a team with nothing to play for. Remick doesn't have a great upside, but he's a good source of salary savings who can still chip in with a few crosses and tackles won.

Brandon Vincent, CHI v. CLB: This match seems the most likely to have goals on both sides, and while that means Vincent doesn't have a ton of clean-sheet upside, he's an attacking fullback who can certainly send in enough crosses that one of this forwards can knock in a goal. It's possible we could see plenty of squad rotation in this match given that neither side has anything to play for, which means we could find a better value once lineups drop.

MIDFIELDER

Shkelzen Gashi, COL v. SJE: Gashi's game logs have been fairly up and down of late, but he remains an integral part of the Rapids' attack, and he takes all their corners. With Colorado an easy favorite at home against a fairly poor Earthquakes side, there's little reason to believe he won't be involved in a goal, either scoring it or setting it up, much like he did Saturday when he bagged his third goal in the last three games.

Nicolas Lodeiro, SEA v. HOU: There were concerns that Lodeiro would miss the match due to international duty, but a yellow card accumulation suspension has him back for the Sounders' push to clinch a playoff spot. He has arguably the highest upside of anyone on the slate, and he may also have the highest and most reliable floor. The Sounders are the biggest favorites and have the highest expected goals, according to Vegas, and with few other upper-tier options, it should be fairly easy to have Gashi and Lodeiro, who has two goals, two assists and 21 crosses in the last five games.

Mohammed Saeid, CLB v. CHI: The Crew are the only road favorite on the slate, and while they aren't overwhelmingly so, it's still something. Saeid has been a solid fantasy option of late, mostly because he can produce despite a low salary on most sites, and because he's on corners and some free kicks, he should be involved if there's a goal. Justin Meram and Ethan Finlay have more name recognition, but Saied provides more bang for the buck, as evidenced by his 18 crosses, two assists and three shots in the last two games.

FORWARD

Jordan Morris, SEA v. HOU: Morris has been held off the scoresheet in each of his last two club matches, but he will be leading the line for the highest favorite on the slate. The Sounders need to keep winning to ensure they make the playoffs, and Morris' ability to finish from Nicolas Lodeiro's setups makes him an excellent option.

Dominique Badji, COL v. SJE: The injury absence of Kevin Doyle has been a boon to Badji, who has bagged five goals on 16 shots in the last five games. He is a bit goal dependent outside of the shots, since he commits about the same number of fouls as he draws, but with the way the Rapids are playing, and particularly Badji, he certainly worth a fantasy roster spot this week.

Mauro Manotas, HOU at SEA: Houston are the likeliest team to get shut out, but if they do find a way to break through, it'll likely be because of Manotas, who bagged a brace against the Rapids last weekend and now has seven goals in his last five games. However, if he doesn't score, he could legitimately put up a donut, so rolling with him in cash games isn't advisable.