MLS Fantasy 2020: Week 13 Fantasy Forecast
Ahead of each Week in MLS Fantasy the Hype Train provides its informative Fantasy Forecast, where members of the Hype Team will duel for MLS supremacy in predicting scores, as well as going head to head in picking a Scout Picks squad for the relevant round of games. In addition, we give our insight into who are the players to watch and those to drop, as well as providing insight into captaincy picks, differential players for the week, and more. Welcome to the Forecast. All aboard.
How does our Forecasting work?
The Hype Team will compete in a weekly head to head dual of wits. The 3 members of the team will provide weekly insight for the Gameweek ahead, providing score predictions, a Scout Picks squad that follows MLS Fantasy rules, and will provide what insight they can for the fixtures at hand.
MLS Fixture Prediction: As pundits, we are testing our football acumen with MLS predictions and will be providing regular updated tables and stats in each edition of the MLS Forecast. A perfect score is worth 3 points whilst a correct result is worth 1 point. An incorrect score is worth nothing.
Gameweek Insight: We've left an open space for the team to write that helps with the Gameweek hustle; identifying captaincy picks, transfers, attacking options, clean sheet potential, teams to look our for and avoid, differential players, as well as general analysis and comments.
Scout Picks: Picking a squad of 15 for a single Week, within their budget limitations, using the rules of MLS Fantasy - formations, the player limits of 3 players-per-club, and each team must pick a captain.
MLS Fantasy 2020: Week 13 Fixtures (26)
Tue 27th October 2020 (1):
Montreal Impact 2-0 Nashville
Wed 28th October 2020 (6):
Vancouver Whitecaps 0-3 Seattle Sounders
NY Red Bulls 1-1 New England Revolution
Cincinnati 0-1 Sporting KC
Orlando City 1-2 Atlanta United
Philadelphia Union 3-0 Chicago Fire
Toronto 2-1 NYCFC
Thu 29th October 2020 (6):
D.C. United 0-2 Columbus Crew
Minnesota United 2-0 Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas 2-0 Inter Miami
Portland Timbers 4-2 LA Galaxy
LAFC 3-1 Houston Dynamo
San Jose Earthquakes 0-0 Real Salt Lake
Sat 31st October 2020 (1):
FC Dallas 2-1 Houston Dynamo
Sun 1st November 2020 (2):
Nashville P-P Chicago Fire
Columbus Crew 2-2 Philadelphia Union
Sun 2nd November 2020 (9):
Atlanta United 3-0 Cincinnati
NYCFC 0-2 NY Red Bulls
Montreal Impact 1-1 Orlando City
New England Revolution 0-0 D.C. United
Sporting KC 1-1 Minnesota United
Toronto P-P Inter Miami
Colorado Rapids P-P Seattle Sounders
Portland Timbers 2-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
LA Galaxy P-P Real Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquakes 1-3 LAFC
MLS Fantasy 2020: Week 13 Insight
Season Points & Price Increase Review:
MW4: +$3.0mil – Points: 46 – Returns: 3
MW5: +$3.7mil – Points: 95 – Returns: 8
MW6: -$2.0mil – Points: 60 – Returns: 6
MW7: +$4.4mil – Points: 95 – Returns: 7
MW8: -$1.8mil – Points: 63 – Returns: 5
MW9: +$2.3mil – Points: 63 – Returns: 5
MW10: +$0.8mil – Points: 74 – Returns: 7
MW11: +$2.9mil – Points: 76 – Returns: 8
MW12: -$0.5mil – Points: 99 – Returns: 5
Net Increase: +$12.8mil
GW12: Starting Eleven…
GK: Johnson (NYC): -$0.6mil – 4pts
DEF: Ziegler (DAL): $0, no change – 9pts
DEF: McKenzie (PHI): +$1.0mil – 18pts
DEF: Washington (NSH): $0, no change – 2pts
MID: Ricaurte (DAL): -$0.9mil – 4pts
MID: Pozuelo (TOR): -$1.0mil – 4pts
MID: Monteiro (PHI): +$1.0mil – 20pts
MID: Mueller (ORL): -$1.0mil – 2pts
FWD: Przybylko (PHI): +$1.0mil – 14pts (C, 28pts)
FWD: Bou (NE): $0, no change – DNP
FWD: Wright-Phillips (LAFC): -$1.0mil – 5pts
GW11: Bench Dwellers…
GK: Marcinkowski (SJ): +$1.0mil – 2pts (Yes, you read that right.)
DEF: Reid (SKC): $0, no change - DNP
DEF: Sweat (MIA): $0, no change – 3pts
MID: Diaz (CLB): $0, no change – 1pt
Rob had a $6.0mil budget surplus, and had an amazing week (111 points and ranked 93rd for the week), and I had my best return this season, and I somehow save money, yet Rob is getting dizzy looking at being millions over value. That is how volatile and strange the MLS Pricing System is. We both had the Philadelphia players that scored big, but our teams were so starkly contrasted going into this gameweek in that Rob must now re-arrange his team to accommodate the massive price increase. That means two or three players need to be downgraded to lesser options which is what is happening a lot in the MLS this season.
In my team, for all the massive points scored by a Philadelphia player, there were let downs from the likes of Pozuelo, Mueller, and Ricaurte which effectively have a balanced price difference this week of a mere -$0.5mil. In my best week I had a drop, I can’t believe it. By the way, Tommy Thompson got a $1.0mil rise for getting 2pts as a $4.0mil option. Just because I didn’t have the players in my team doesn’t mean that there are infuriating decisions occurring in the MLS this week.
My big tiff this week was the ghost fixture for LA Galaxy which wasn’t even accounted for by the MLS, as it was just to get it out of the way. How do the fantasy points work for that? If even one game isn’t included in the game, then there is no integrity behind it as the season is based on every team playing the same number of games. This is just another nail in the coffin of this MLS season, one that should have been null and voided a long time ago.
I will praise something this week: Thank god for Philadelphia, without them, I literally would have nothing to talk about this week. Sooner rather than later the City of Brotherly Love is going to be challenging for titles in the MLS and I'm hoping that they
Captaincy Picks:
Essential: Przybylko (PHI)
Alternative: Pozuelo (TOR)
Differential: Barco (ATL)
MLS Scout Picks Squad: Week 13
Budget: $124.6million (fixed)
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Melia (SKC)
DEF: Ziegler (DAL)
DEF: McKenzie (PHI)
DEF: Morrow (TOR)
MID: Barco (ATL)
MID: Pozuelo (TOR)
MID: Monteiro (PHI)
MID: Molino (MIN)
FOR: Wright-Phillips (LAFC)
FOR: Przybylko (PHI) (C)
FOR: Morris (SEA)
Substitutes
GK: Edwards (CIN)
MID: Diaz (CLB)
DEF: Reid (SKC)
DEF: Sweat (MIA)
MLS Fantasy 2020: Week 13 Fixtures (26)
Tue 27th October 2020 (1):
Montreal Impact 2-0 Nashville
Wed 28th October 2020 (6):
Vancouver Whitecaps 1-3 Seattle Sounders
NY Red Bulls 1-0 New England Revolution
Cincinnati 0-3 Sporting KC
Orlando City 3-2 Atlanta United
Philadelphia Union 4-1 Chicago Fire
Toronto 2-1 NYCFC
Thu 29th October 2020 (6):
D.C. United 2-2 Columbus Crew
Minnesota United 1-1 Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas 2-1 Inter Miami
Portland Timbers 5-1 LA Galaxy
LAFC 4-2 Houston Dynamo
San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Real Salt Lake
Sat 31st October 2020 (1):
FC Dallas 2-1 Houston Dynamo
Sun 1st November 2020 (2):
Nashville 0-0 Chicago Fire
Columbus Crew 1-2 Philadelphia Union
Sun 2nd November 2020 (9):
Atlanta United 2-1 Cincinnati
NYCFC 1-1 NY Red Bulls
Montreal Impact 2-2 Orlando City
New England Revolution 2-0 D.C. United
Sporting KC 3-1 Minnesota United
Toronto 3-2 Inter Miami
Colorado Rapids 1-2 Seattle Sounders
Portland Timbers 2-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
LA Galaxy 1-2 Real Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquakes 2-2 LAFC
MLS Fantasy 2020: Week 13 Insight
Teams with a Double Gameweek (26):
1 – Montreal: Nashville (H), Orlando (H)
2 – Nashville: Montreal (A), Chicago (H)
3 – Vancouver: Seattle (H), Portland (A)
4 – Seattle: Vancouver (A), Colorado (A)
5 – NY Red Bulls: New England (H), NYCFC (A)
6 – New England: Red Bulls (A), D.C. United (H)
7 – Cincinnati: Sporting KC (H), Atlanta (A)
8 – Sporting KC: Cincinnati (A), Minnesota (H)
9 – Orlando: Atlanta (H), Montreal (A)
10 – Atlanta: Orlando (A), Cincinnati (H)
11 – Philadelphia: Chicago (H), Columbus (A)
12 – Chicago: Philadelphia (A), Nashville (A)
13 – Toronto: NYCFC (H), Miami (H)
14 – NYCFC: Toronto (A), Red Bulls (H)
15 – D.C. United: Columbus (H), New England (A)
16 – Columbus: D.C. United (A), Philadelphia (H)
17 – Minnesota: Colorado (H), Sporting KC (A)
18 – Colorado: Minnesota (A), Seattle (H)
19 – Dallas: Miami (H), Houston (H)
20 – Miami: Dallas (A), Toronto (A)
21 – Portland: LA Galaxy (H), Vancouver (H)
22 – LA Galaxy: Portland (A), Real Salt Lake (H)
23 – LAFC: Houston (H), San Jose (A)
24 – Houston: LAFC (A), Dallas (A)
25 – San Jose: Real Salt Lake (H), LAFC (H)
26 – Real Salt Lake: San Jose (A), LA Galaxy (H)
Teams to Watch / Avoid:
Watch (due to fixtures): Toronto, Portland, Seattle, Sporting KC, Dallas, San Jose (maybe)
To Avoid (as they’re not very good teams): D.C. United, Atlanta, Vancouver, Cincinnati and of course, the crème de la crème, LA Galaxy.
Captaincy Picks:
Essential: Pozuelo (TOR)
Alternative: Rossi (LAFC)
Differential: Chris Wondolowski (SJ)
It's Pozuelo. If not, Lodeiro. If you're a Carlos Vela fanatic, his return might boost Rossi, but the leading men of MLS Fantasy will be the duo fighting for the armband. I just can't overlook two home games for Toronto as they look to bounce back after defeat against Philadelphia.
Other Week 13 Comments:
I’ve found that my team was very hard to pick this week and due to the powerhouse midfielders on show in good fixtures, I’ve overlooked a few key Philadelphia players. Given the depth of the fixtures, with each team playing twice, I couldn’t help but put in the likely set-piece heroes – Pozuelo, Lodeiro and Valeri.
Due to the erratic nature though of MLS Fantasy this season, given that the 2020 MLS season has been thwart with issues from minute one – be it Covid, Black Lives Matter protests, lots of postponements, the league’s fixture schedule and format being an absolute nightmare, and the general US politics that has affected the Fantasy game and the league in general – I am more than ready for the season to end with Week 14.
Already in nostalgic mode, the only really players who have made me purr as an analyst and a viewer have been Lodeiro and Pozuelo – other than that it hasn’t been a stellar season.
I’m hoping to cement a place in the Top 100 players this season and I’ve finally broken that rank, and that’s probably the most I could have hoped for being British and not being up at 3:30am to check out the LAFC and Portland squads.
MLS Scout Picks Squad: Week 13
Budget: $125.0 million (fixed)
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: T. Melia (SKC)
DEF: A. Fontas (SKC)
DEF: K. Duncan (RBNY)
DEF: R. Ziegler (DAL)
MID: N. Lodeiro (SEA)
MID: A. Pozuelo (TOR) – (C)
MID: D. Valeri (POR)
MID: C. Mueller (ORL)
FOR: D. Rossi (LAFC)
FOR: K. Pryzbylko (PHI)
FOR: G. Higuain (MIA)
Substitutes
GK: B. Hamid (DC)
MID: P. Frankowski (CHI)
DEF: Bressan (DAL)
DEF: M. El-Munir (LAFC)
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in Fantasy sports reporting, starting with Fantasy Premier League (FPL), before expanding to MLS Fantasy coverage in 2018.
We pride ourselves in providing beautiful graphics, statistics, in-depth analytical reporting and free weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb rankings tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review games, live sport, and professional wrestling.
In 2019, Hype Train Football Club was formed, becoming the first Fantasy Football website to take to the field. HTFC is a socially active team across social and web channels, providing regular match highlights, match reports, comprehensive player statistics and unique player profiles.
The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog' in 2016 by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), and were again shortlisted as a finalist in 2019 in the 'Best Fantasy Football Blog' category.
You can follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, follow Hype Train FC on Instagram, subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content, or visit our website here at www.thehypetrain.co.uk
All aboard.
