Fantasy Soccer Advice

MLS Fantasy & Gaming Round 12: Positional Rankings, Squad Pick & Parlay Predictor advice

Thiago Alamada fantasy_

Your Matchday 12 fantasy and gaming advice roundup is here! Check out MLS Fantasy positional rankings as well as MLS Squad Pick and MLS Parlay Predictor recommendations below.

MLS Fantasy

MLS Fantasy

Fantasy points are in the forecast with the first big DGW (double game week) of the season coming up in Round 13. While the anticipation builds, weā€™ve still got some business to take care of in Round 12. This is the final round of Fantasy Champions League Period #2, where the top 50 teams will qualify for the final round to compete for more prizes.

Letā€™s get locked in and hit the top plays and values to help your team make some moves on the leaderboards.

Get more advice on the _MLS Fantasy Insider Round 12 preview_ podcast

Teams on a BYE: CIN

Goalkeeper

Steve Clark and the Houston Dynamo have not allowed a goal at home in over 450 minutes this season. Itā€™s been a remarkable run, but up next is arguably their toughest home game yet when they square off with Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders on Saturday.

If that matchup is too much to stomach, there are plenty of good value plays, including Chris Brady ($6.3m), who might be worth a spot on your bench to see if he can collect a clean sheet in the earliest match of the day against St. Louis CITY SC.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Steve Clark

HOU

vs. SEA
$8.5
2. Chris Brady
CHI
vs. STL
$6.3
3. Tim Melia
SKC
vs. MIN
$6.1
4. Patrick Schulte
CLB
vs. ORL

$6.7

5. Brad Stuver
ATX
vs. DAL
$7.4
Value Goalkeepers
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Quentin Westberg
ATL
vs. CLT
$4.1
2. Carlos Coronel
RBNY
vs. NYC
$5.6
3. Aljaz Ivacic
POR

vs. VAN

$5.5

Defenders

Brooks Lennon sent in an eye-popping 12 crosses for the second straight game, creating six chances and tallying his fourth assist of the year in last weekā€™s road loss to Inter Miami. His role on set pieces boosts his fantasy value, and with target man Giorgos Giakoumakis potentially returning to action on Saturday, a favorable home match against Charlotte FC could see Lennon deliver another healthy dose of fantasy points.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Brooks Lennon
ATL
vs. CLT
$9.9
2. Julian Gressel
VAN
at POR
$11.7
3. Kai Wagner
PHI
at COL
$8.1
4. Jon Gallagher
ATX
vs. DAL
$8.0
5. John Tolkin
RBNY
vs. NYC
$8.6
6. Andrew Gutman
ATL
vs. CLT
$7.4
7. Daniel Steres
HOU
vs. SEA
$8.3
8. Aaron Herrera
MTL
vs. TOR
$6.5
9. Richie Laryea
TOR
at MTL
$9.7
10. Lalas Abubakar
COL
vs. PHI
$7.5
Value Defenders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Adam Lundkvist
ATX
vs. DAL
$4.0
2. Caleb Wiley
ATL
vs. CLT
$5.2
3. Micael
HOU
vs. SEA
$5.5

Midfielders

Thiago Almada fired off eight shots in last weekā€™s 2-1 loss to Inter Miami, failing to score or assist for just the second time in nine appearances this season. The FIFA World Cup winner is in prime position to storm back with a big game at home against a Charlotte FC unit that has struggled on the road.

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Thiago Almada
ATL
vs. CLT
$13.5
2. Lucas ZelarayƔn
CLB
vs. ORL
$11.9
3. Cristian Espinoza
SJ
at LA
$13.5
4. Hany Mukhtar
NSH
at DC
$12.3
5. HĆ©ctor Herrera
HOU
vs. SEA
$11.3
6. Carles Gil
NE
at MIA
$11.1
7. Evander
POR
vs. VAN
$8.5
8. Riqui Puig
LA
vs. SJ
$9.3
9. Erik Thommy
SKC
vs. MIN
$7.4
10. Lorenzo Insigne
TOR
at MTL
$8.9
11. NicolƔs Lodeiro
SEA
at HOU

$10.1

12. DƔniel Gazdag
PHI
at COL
$11.1
13. Xherdan Shaqiri
CHI
vs. STL
$6.8
14. Mateusz Klich
DC
vs. NSH

$8.3

15. Ryan Gauld
VAN
at POR
$8.7
16. Santiago RodrĆ­guez
NYC
at RBNY
$8.9
17. Connor Ronan
COL
vs. PHI
$9.0
18. MartĆ­n Ojeda
ORL
at CLB
$8.5
19. Timothy Tillman
LAFC
at RSL
$8.3
20. Bryce Duke
MTL
vs. TOR
$6.8
Value Midfielders
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Benjamin Cremaschi
MIA
vs. NE
$4.7
2. Emmanuel Boateng
NE
at MIA
$5.7
3. Sean Rea
MTL
vs. TOR
$5.1

Forwards

Cucho HernĆ”ndez wasted no time making his presence felt in his return to action after missing six games with a knee injury. He opened his 2023 account with a goal on eight shots (four on goal) to finish with nine points in Round 11. With the Lucas ZelarayĆ”n and Cucho combo back in business, the Crew are in a good bounce-back spot at home against an Orlando City team that has lost three of their last four (including Wednesdayā€™s US Open Cup defeat to Charlotte).

Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Cucho HernƔndez
CLB
vs. ORL
$9.0
2. DĆ©nis Bouanga
LAFC
at RSL
$11.4
3. Chicharito
LA
vs. SJ
$7.8
4. Diego Rubio
COL
vs. PHI
$8.9
5. Daniel Salloi
SKC
vs. MIN
$7.1
6. Carlos Vela
LAFC
at RSL
$9.7
7. JesĆŗs Ferreira
DAL
at ATX
$9.3
8. Christian Benteke
DC
vs. NSH
$8.6
9. Federico Bernardeschi
TOR
at MTL
$8.8
10. Jeremy Ebobisse
SJ
at  LA
$9.8
Value Forwards
Player
Team
Opponent
Price
1. Gyasi Zardes
ATX
vs. DAL
$4.4
2. Elias Manoel
RBNY
vs. NYC
$4.4
3. Corentin Jean
MIA
vs. NE
$4.7
Captain
1. Thiago Almada
ATL
vs. CLT
$13.5
2. Lucas ZelarayƔn
CLB
vs. ORL
$11.9
3. Cucho HernƔndez
CLB
at ORL
$9.0
MLS Squad Pick

Playing MLS Squad Pick is quick and easy. Pick six players for your squad. If they all score in the same matchday, you could win a $160 MLSstore.com gift card!

Donā€™t forget, each round you play gives you one (1) entry into the end-of-season Grand Prize drawing for $10,000!

Expert advice:

Thiago Almada was knocking at the door after hammering out eight shots, DĆ©nis Bouanga stayed hot, and Cucho opened his 2023 account in his return to the field last round. Evander continues to evolve in the Portland attack, and Chicharito is getting opportunities despite the Galaxyā€™s recent struggles. Iā€™ve assembled a star-studded squad, and Iā€™m banking on all five to be involved this weekend.

Check out my squad for Round 12:

squad pick round 12
MLS Parlay Predictor

Playing MLS Parlay Predictor is simple. Pick the results of all six games correctly in a single matchday, and you could win a 2023 MLS Season Pass full-season subscription on Apple TV!

Each round you predict gives you one (1) entry into the end-of-season Grand Prize drawing for $10,000!

Expert advice:

After air balling Round 11, Iā€™m ready to bounce back with a draw-heavy MLS Rivalry Week. Letā€™s take a closer look at recent stats and trends for the matchups in Round 12.

  • CLB vs. ORL - Orlando City have won seven of the last eight matches against the Crew. Can they continue their dominance on the road against a Columbus team that has lost two straight MLS matches?
  • MTL vs. TOR - Toronto FC are winless in eight straight road games (0W-5L-3D), while CF MontrĆ©al have won three consecutive games.
  • RBNY vs. NYC - New York City FC beat the Red Bulls twice last season, but they have never won three straight editions of the New York Derby.
  • ATX vs. DAL - Austin FC are winless in seven straight MLS matches (0W-3L-4D), while FC Dallas have won just one of their last 12 road matches against fellow Texas sides (0W-4L-7D).
  • COL vs. PHI - The Rapids are unbeaten in seven straight matches (2W-0L-5D), while the Union have lost just one of their last eight meetings with the Rapids (3W-1L-4D).
  • LA vs. SJ - The away side has won each of the last four meetings between the Galaxy and Earthquakes.

Check out my predictions for Round 12:

parlay predictor round 12