Daily Fantasy Football action is back early this week with a pair of midweek games. And unlike regular fantasy, you don't have to worry about whether Giovinco is worth a roster spot based on his price -- especially in a week when we have four capable teams that will play twice in a short, congested schedule. The benefits of the daily game are fully realized in a week such as this. And Mondogoal has you covered with a wide option of events from Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday exclusive matches and weekend combination events. To get you started, let's just focus on the four teams playing Wednesday of this week.
The matches being played on Wednesday are:
Columbus vs. NYCFC
Sporting Kansas City vs. San Jose
With only four teams playing in this first offering of events, our options are a bit more limited, and rosters will be less varied. But if we're savvy enough, we can pick get the differentials we need and still make a bit of money.
For the purposes of this article, all prices and points are via our partners Mondogoal.
#1) GOALKEEPER AND DEFENDER TIPS
Due to the scoring prowess of both NYCFC and Columbus -- and the two teams' shared incompetence in defense -- there really is only one recommendation this week for our back lines, and that's SKC. Sporting Kansas City will look to assert a bit of defensive dominance against a San Jose side that has lost four straight matches on the road. In San Jose's recent four away losses, they've been outmatched by a combined tally of 11-4, and they've been shutout in one of those matches. Any time a team comes into a play with that kind of road form, you take the smart choice and go with the home team.
Tim Melia ($5.8, GK) will look to get back into the superior form that SKC had earlier on in the season, and he's really the top pick for all goalkeepers this week. His price is fair, and his potential for at least holding San Jose to a single goal or less is pretty high. Pairing with Melia is an easy call, take
Kevin Ellis ($8.8, D). Ellis has been in great form lately in both the defensive and offensive sets. Ellis is also averaging 9.98 ppg over his last five matches, so his value really speaks for itself.
Of course, with the attacking options available to you from SKC, you aren't going to want to completely load up on all defense from their squad. After all, you're going to want some room for a midfielder or forward against the weaker opponent. So you're going to need at least one more defender from another team. Columbus vs. NYCFC is slated to be a high scoring affair, thus the best bet is to try to find a defender to get forward in the attack to offset some of the penalty for allowing goals. Right now
Angelino ($6.8, D) is a decently priced option for NYCFC that loves to bomb forward on the attack. His potential for crosses and assists are as high as any defender playing on Wednesday night.
#2) MIDFIELDER TIPS
The obvious choice here is
Benny Feilhaber ($13.0, M). The man is Mr. Reliable, it's as simple as that. Consider that he's only once scored less than 5 points for his owners all year. He does, obviously, bring the potential for double digit tallies, but even in an off-game, he won't hurt you with mediocrity.
To add a bit of balance to your roster price, try
Tony Tchani ($7.0, M). Tchani is now a mainstay of the Columbus attack and has a decent 7.7 ppg average over his last three outings. The trick is going to be trying to find that bit of price balance on your squad for this set of games, and Tchani offers a good price for a decent upside.
Tommy McNamara ($9.1, M) is a bit of a pricier option, but his cost may be merited. Three of his last four matches have resulted in McNamara turning in scores of 14 points or more. McNamara has really found a good bit of linking play with Villa at the front of NYCFC's attack, and an opportunity to go against the like of a porous Columbus defense may line up well for him.
#3) FORWARD TIPS
Kei Kamara ($12.4, F) is a premium priced option, but his results speak for themselves. Four of the last five matches for Kamara have given his owners double digit tallies on their score sheets -- and his last outing provided a whopping 22.98 points. As bad as Columbus' defense may be, NYCFC may actually be worse off. There shouldn't be any lack of scoring in this game, and Kamara should get himself a healthy chunk of the points.
David Villa ($13.2, F) may be one of those players to avoid this week. His potential is high, thus he may actually be considered a differential player at his price, but his results on the road haven't been quite up to snuff. His average in his last three home matches is a decent 18.15 points. But his average over his last three road fixtures? 10.83 points per game. And his last away match didn't even break the 5 point mark. Villa always has the ability to surprise, and this opposition allows goals, but his recent form says to be cautious.
Ethan Finlay ($8.5, F) is a player that frustrates daily fantasy players because in nearly every other venue, he's listed as a midfielder. But here in daily fantasy, you have to decide if he's worth taking up one of your three coveted forward spots. And for this round, I would dare say that he may actually be worth the risk playing up top for his price. Two of his last three home matches were 20+ point performances, and like Villa, his home form far surpasses his away form. If Kamara is a bit too expensive for you, Finlay offers a great alternative for a better price.
#4) BUDGET PLAYERS
Budget players are going to have to play a larger role this week given the reduced player pool. After all, it's just mathematically impossible to put every big name player on your squad and still fill every position.
Watch the announced starting lineups to see if
Kwadwo Poku ($4.8, M) is starting for NYCFC. There is the chance that Lampard will come back and take his place on the field -- but if Poku starts, he's a player to watch. Consider that in his two starts that he played 90 minutes this year, Poku has amassed point totals of 21.68 and 14.5 points. He's a great starter, but he's having trouble finding the minutes lately.
Due to the congested schedule coming up for these four teams, players that wouldn't ordinarily get minutes may get a starting opportunity.
Jack McInerney ($4.8, F) may be a player to keep your eye on when the lineups are announced. The forward is a steal at the price if he's allowed to play any real minutes. He will have to give way to the preferred Kamara and Higuain, but if either of those players are rested, Jack Mack could be a nifty little replacement.
Roger Espinoza ($6.0, M) is a decent player for SKC that should at least be looked at if he gets the start. There is nothing flashy about the player, but he will get a shot on target every now and again. Espinoza is prone to waiting for a squad rotation to get starting minutes, but like the players mentioned above, he could find his ways into the coach's plans for the midweek game.
Good luck this week. We will see you in the daily leagues -- and hopefully I didn't give away too much of my team here...
