Welcome to the weekly Economy Corner where I suggest the Best Bang for the Buck options at each position (Points Earned/Price $ Paid). Most of us probably won’t crack the top 100 in the Global Overall league. In fact, I’d be happy to just hit the top 1,000. However, we all have the capability to achieve #1 in our private leagues against our friends, coworkers, and fellow club supporters. I am here to help you achieve that.
All teams play this week. Confederations Cup is over. Gold Cup begins Friday! Rosters due TUESDAY!!
Value Play Examples (Points/Cost $) from Week 18 (Week 18 prices)
Goalkeeper: Getting 12 pts from Kann ATL for only $4.4 compared to paying $5.8 for Melia SKC who scored 8 pts.
Defender: Getting 15 pts from Duvall MTL for only $4.4 compared to paying $6.4 for Moor TOR who scored 4 pts;
Midfielder: Getting 11 pts from Polster CHI for only $5.6 compared to paying $10.8 for Valeri POR who scored 5 pts; the Top 10 Midfielders this last week were all under $9.
Forward: Getting 16 pts from Nikolic CHI for only $10.6 compared to paying $12.7 for Giovinco TOR who scored 3 pts.
Side Bar – Nikolic or Accam Tirade: Last week I promised to provide a bit of insight pertaining to my confusion of why Nikolic has routinely been owned by a lot more teams than Accam. Nikolic’s selection rapidly increased in week 12 and week 13 after scoring 20 and 12 pts in the previous weeks (week 11 & 12), while Accam has remained relatively unclaimed. Let’s dive into the numbers. Over the course of the season Nikolic has scored 142 pts and Accam scored 120 pts. However Accam recently missed two games giving Nikolic the sole spot light those weeks. Removing Nikolic’s scores from those games, Nikolic has only scored 114 pts in games when Accam has played too. In games following week 11, including week 11, when both players play: Nikolic has scored 20, 12, 3, 7, 3, 8, and 7; Accam has scored 12, 6, 8, 8, 2, 8 and 27. Nikolic’s total from those weeks is 60, while Accam’s total is 71. In conclusion on average Accam will have the higher score when both players play, so don’t follow the masses. Your Welcome.
Recap of Week 18 Suggestions
Big Win: 5 of last weeks suggestions scored 10 pts or more. Goalkeeper Lampson scored 10, Defenders Onyewu and Callens scored 10 and 11 pts, and Midfielders Dzemaili and Harrison scored 15 and 10 pts.
Swing and a Miss: Goalkeeper Steffen and Midfielder Techera only scored 1 and 2 pts.
The Push: Defender Opara, Midfielder Higuain and Forward Plata each scored an acceptable 4 pts.
Biggest Regret: Having Alessandrini in my starting lineup with no one from my bench playing. I still scored 109 pts earning a Round Rank of 241.
*Weekly disclaimer: I’m not saying these choices will perform better than high priced Blake, Besler, Valeri or Nikolic; these are simply value plays so that you can still squeeze Blake, Besler, Valeri and Nikolic all into you starting XI.
Week 19 Value Suggestions
All teams play this week. Confederations Cup is over. Gold Cup begins Friday! Rosters due TUESDAY!!
Goalkeepers: Melia is back to being the most selected goalkeeper, by 0.1%, over Cropper, they’re at 24.1% and 24%. This week I don’t see many potential CS, I think Dallas has the best opportunity for one.
Gonzalez DAL $4.9 – Dallas is hosting DC United. I’m honestly surprised Dallas hasn’t held more clean sheets than they have, but then I remember Hedges has been called up for international play consistently and Zimmerman has been injured. That didn’t stop them from holding Toronto to only 1 goal. It has been 5 away games since United last scored on the road.
Kann ATL $4.6 – Kann and copmany earned a unexpected clean sheet on the road against Columbus this last week. Atlanta returns home to face San Jose. The Earthquakes have been having recent success scoring goals. I doubt Kann will allow them score more than once on the road this week.
Defenders: Medranda’s ownership increased from last week to 26%, even though he still didn’t play. Opara is at 25.9%. Callens NY is now up to 14.4%, I don’t think NYCFC will hold a clean sheet against the Whitecaps this week though, but he or Sweat could score a goal.
Onyewu PHI $4.9 – Philadelphia earned another clean sheet last week. Onyewu and his teammates continue to be some of the best defender options under $5. They have 7 CS on the season. This week they’re on the road against SKC who is missing Dom Dwyer. Word of caution though, Kansas City’s last 12 goals were scored by players not named Dwyer.
Mavinga TOR $5.7 – I know Toronto is on the road against Orlando. However you should consider that Mavinga has scored at least 4 pts in every games since week 11. In his last 5 games he has 36 pts. Orlando has been held scoreless in 4 of their last 8 games. He is currently selected by less than 1% of teams.
Farrel NE $5.1 – New England is at home this week against New York. Both teams have been inconsistent in previous weeks. Consider New England for a CS opportunity as they have held other teams scoreless in 4 of their 8 home games this season.
Midfield: Valeri leads the week at 30.2%, and Almiron is at 23.6%. Alessandrini, Gressel and Godoy are all under 20% currently. Harrison is now selected by 16% of teams; I think he’s still a fantastic value choice, but you know that already, so I’ll offer up a new suggestion this week for you to consider.
Dzemaili MTL $9 – In 5 games he has played he has 4 assists and 3 goals for a total of 50 pts. I’ve suggested him the last two weeks and his ownership is still under 5%. Who are you picking over him?
Techera VAN 7.8 – I know he let you down last week, but the Whitecaps are at home this week. Has 82 points for the season, earning 43 of those points in the last 6 games. If he doesn’t put up for the second game in a row I’ll stop suggesting him.
Diaz DAL $10 – Diaz is a special suggestion this week. While I don’t think he would qualify as a value play (points/price), this week could be his break out game back to fantasy relevancy. In Dallas’s last two games Diaz scored 11 pts in only 124 minutes, roughly 8 pts per 90 minutes.
Forwards: This week Villa is up to 40.6%. Nikolic is at 20.8% and Adi is down to 19.6%. Accam is expected to play this week, I don’t think he has yet to be owned by more than 5% of teams this season.
Badji COL $6.6 – Something has started clicking for the Rapids attack. In Colorado’s last 5 home games they have scored 9 goals. They’re home again this week against Seattle. The Sounders haven’t had a clean sheet on the road since April 23. Since week 16 Badji has 24 pts in 3 games, since week 14 Doyle ($8) has 34 pts in 5 games.
Manotas HOU $8.0 – Houston is at a home this week, which usually indicates it is time to add Torres to your team. However Torres has been called up by Mexico for the Gold Cup. Look at Manotas to fill the vacant spot, or midfielder Alex ($7.8) to provide the goals with Torres out.
Those are my value plays for you to consider for Week 19.
Constructive feedback is appreciated.
Ball in the Woods 