MLS Fantasy Player Picks, Round 26: Red Bulls highly recommended ahead of Wildcard Week

OK, just a quick note on last week, Ahem, for those of us who captained Feilhaber and had to wait through the torture of the next 5 days, it is a new week. Personally, had I captained my second choice Kamara, I would now be 36th overall. As it is, I only dropped a couple of spots to 72nd. The soccer Gods can be cruel. Anyway, as they say on the field, the most important play is the "next play", the most important game is the "next game", so on to week 26. Just remember, that next week we all get a wild card to play with, that will be a fun week for discussion.

The first thing I do during these Double Game Week situations is check to see if someone has any particularly favorable match ups. Red Bull New York probably have the best team playing two matches and Colorado Rapids are at home for both. The Chicago Fire have some cheap players and Houston Dynamo has some tough match ups. I might also offer that Orlando City plays much better at home and has Chicago coming to town and Portland Timbers are traveling to play a struggling Seattle Sounders squad.

With this information in mind, let's move on to this weeks selections.

Goalkeepers

Luis Robles is an attractive possibility as he is assured of starting both matches. RBNY started the season in fantastic form and has struggled recently. They are away to Chicago and at home to the Eastern Conference leaders and rival DC United.

Clint Irwin might be worth a punt with Colorado playing two home fixtures and the defensive rotation employed at Colorado a series of musical chairs. The match ups are against Houston and Sporting Kansas City, and again playing at home in MLS is a huge advantage.

Tyler Deric would be an option with teams having a budgetary constraint. He is priced at only 4.9 and certainly will feature in both matches. Unfortunately, they face Colorado on the road and Vancouver at home.

Defenders

Matt Miazga is the selection this week, if you don't already have him on your squad. He has established himself as one of the best young defenders in MLS and is still a bargain at 6.0. He will get you some points, even if the Red Bulls fail to get a shutout. A very safe addition.

Eric Gehrig and Matt Polster of Chicago are cheap double game options at the price of 5.2 and 4.7 respectively. At this point, Chicago might still be pushing toward the playoffs (difficult to conceive, I know) and they are probably only a minimum of a rotation risk.

Bobby Burling might be the best option of the Colorado defenders. He is another budget guy at 4.7, has gone 90' in the most recent four matches and in 7 of Colorado's last 8. Again, rotation is a concern in Colorado, although they do enjoy the two home fixtures.

Midfielders

Sacha Kljestan has been the most transferred in player this week. Dax McCarty is another option for the Red Bulls. Both struggle with a lack of consistency, although Sacha has enjoyed a run of form lately. The big question is "Which RBNY team will show up, the Contenders or the Imposters?"

Sebastian Lletget and Giovani Dos Santos have been on a tear recently with the red hot Galaxy. They play at San Jose, who has stepped up their own performances, recently. Consider, of course that LA performs much better at home in Stub Hub than on the road.

Harrison Shipp is very capable of delivering a goal or assist for the Chicago Fire. He has a history of wearing down as the season progresses so be wary of a rotation or drop off in the second match. The second match is always a concern for these Double Game week teams.

Forwards

Bradley Wright-Phillips is probably the most attractive addition at forward this week. He's capable of heating up and scoring goals in bunches. I expect him to be a starter in both matches.

Robbie Keane delivered 21 points last week against the visiting NYCFC. He has enjoyed the best form of any forward in MLS, recently. If you don't get him on your team this week, he probably should be in your plans for the future. (LA has a bye, next week, when we utilize the wild card).

Mike Grella has been a consistent points producer for those needing a budget filler option. He has started each match since GW 10, but has been subbed out in the second half each of the past four matches, which typically prevents a player from achieving some bonus opportunities.

The deadline for transfers this week is early again, Wednesday at 8:30 PM. Another thing to consider is which players might be most likely to spike in value this week, of course they would also be the ones most likely to score the points. The Wild Card situation will sure provide some opportunity next week.

For my own squad, I expect to add Matt Polster (hoping to catch some value increase) and perhaps Luis Robles.

Currently, my lineup looks the same as last week: Melia, Toia, Ellis, Gehrig, Giovinco, Feilhaber, Finlay, McNamara, Keane, Villa and Kamara.

Polster will go in for either Toia or Ellis. I am leaning toward Giovinco as my captain or a well rested Feilhaber. The captain pick will be a huge differential this gw and will be all over the place as no clear option(s) is available.

So, cheers! What does your crystal ball offer this week? Who is your captain? Who have I missed?