This article is part of our The Armband series.
Every player who should've been considered as a captain last week provided double-digit points at a minimum. If you decided on Sebastian Giovinco with only one match, you still ended up with 16 fantasy points. The difference in lineups ended up being which defenses you backed, if you used Sebastian Blanco or not and if you risked David Accam with only one match. At the end of the day, deciding a captain wasn't a huge deal unless you were one of the few (if any) that gave the armband to Blanco or for some reason someone on the Rapids.
That tends to happen with big double gameweeks, but we won't have that luxury this week with 20 teams in action, as the Red Bulls and Sounders have the week off. Making things a tad more difficult is the U.S. Open Cup, with 13 teams playing Tuesday or Wednesday. Some squads use a lot of backups in these matches, but some teams (like Sporting KC) have used a good portion of starters in the past. Not to mention, as it gets closer to the final, more teams will be inclined to use their studs, which could change lineups for MLS play. Throw in the Gold Cup that starts next week and finding a captain could be tricky.
Luckily, NYC FC doesn't have to worry about that and also has one of the most favorable matches of the week against Minnesota on Thursday. David Villa will undoubtedly be one of the top captain options even after a recent dud. It's hard to argue against his 10 goals and six assists ahead of the match against the Loons, who have allowed the most goals (38) in MLS this season. Jack Harrison could be a useful differential given his three goals and two assists in the last six matches, but I'm not one for getting too smart when Villa is a no-brainer on the same team. A defender could be looked at like Maxime Chanot, though NYC doesn't have a home clean sheet since its home opener.
The Fire will get plenty of backing against Vancouver with their 23 goals scored and only four allowed at home this season. After his most recent performance (three goals, one assist), David Accam would be a logical choice, but he'll be away with Ghana for the Gold Cup. Nemanja Nikolic, who has 10 goals in his last seven home matches, and Bastian Schweinsteiger will be the best options. This is also a reasonable spot to back a defender with Joao Meira and Johan Kappelhof the best options for a clean sheet.
Also in the Midwest, Columbus is a good place to turn with a home match against Atlanta. It remains a mystery as to which player will come through in a given week, but Federico Higuain has slightly separated himself from Justin Meram and Ola Kamara with five goals and an assist in his last four matches. These teams met in Atlanta a couple weeks ago and that game resulted in four goals (3-1 Atlanta win). The Crew are scoring more than two per match at home, so an opposite 3-1 score line wouldn't be surprising.
There may only be one other team I'd consider for captain this week and that's Montreal between Ignacio Piatti and Blerim Dzemaili. Unfortunately, Piatti suffered a groin injury during Tuesday's match against Toronto, so it may be tough relying on him to start (or even make the bench). Goals are coming at a consistent rate on both sides of the field in Dzemaili's four matches with the team (17 total goals). Home against D.C. will produce at least a couple for the Impact. I'd roll with Piatti if he was fully fit because his upside seems higher, but Dzemaili has produced consistently at a cheaper rate.
Sporting are at home but have to travel to Houston on Wednesday and host a tough Portland attack without Matt Besler and Graham Zusi. Elsewhere, I'm okay with fading Giovinco in Dallas, mainly because of Dallas' seven goals allowed at home this season. Romain Alessandrini is also on the road at San Jose and that will be a difficult match to project. That said, when these teams met a month ago, the Galaxy won 4-2 in San Jose, so I'm not opposed to backing Alessandrini. As a reminder, Giovani dos Santos scored twice in that match and the Galaxy were a bit healthier defensively at the time. Last but not least, Maximiliano Urruti always deserves a look at home, but I have a feeling that match against Toronto may be lower scoring.
