In the year-long fantasy game, the MLS is having a rough time this week with a condensed set of available MLS teams. But their loss is our gain in the daily fantasy MLS leagues. With a limited number of teams, your guesses can be more educated and your bargain plays are less likely to leave you at the back of the pack. Furthermore, the fact that DC United and Orlando play a day later than the rest of the group means that you may only have to choose from 8 teams for your MLS league this week. Let's look at the 4 match ups for Saturday, and then we'll discuss the best formation to play with the information we have at hand. [mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"]

SEATTLE SOUNDERS VS. FC DALLAS 

[mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"] CAST YOUR HOPES ON SEATTLE'S KEY PLAYERS Seattle play at home against FC Dallas this week. Aside from the obvious comparison to their records that should tell you that Seattle are the better team, these two teams are simply worlds apart in their overall form right now. Starting with FC Dallas, you should know that Dallas are on their fourth leg of five straight road games. Taking that a step further, Dallas have only scored one goal TOTAL in their previous 4 matches. Simply put, Dallas are out of sync and a trip to Seattle isn't going to be the cure to their woes. Seattle on the other hand have won their previous two home games -- and have accumulated 7 clean sheets on the year. Couple that stat with the fact that Dallas really aren't finding the back of the net, and things are lining up very nicely for Seattle to produce big points this weekend for your squad. Your best bets from Seattle are going to depend on how you want to build your team.  If you like the Seattle defensive edge, pick up Stefan Frei and a pair of defenders and go with the “all eggs in one basket” approach. But really, Seattle should have their attack back to full strength this week, so adding in Clint Dempsey or Obafemi Martins could add depth to your squad at every level. If you need to round out your team with a cheap FC Dallas option, you should look to their defence. Don't expect to get any points from clean sheets, but if Dallas mount any kind of challenge in this game, it's going to come from the back. You might be able to get some points off of tackles and passes.  But this strategy isn't a high recommendation based on how poorly Dallas are playing. [mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"]

NYCFC vs. MONTREAL IMPACT

[mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"] BEWARE THE STAR POWER IN NEW YORK It's no surprise that the two biggest names in this game, David Villa and Ignacio Piatti, are also going to be some of the most costly options available to you. But they're well worth it.  These two sides aren't good at keeping clean sheets, and both sides rely on their attack to win games for them. New York haven't kept a clean sheet since their third game of the year, and Montreal haven't kept a clean sheet since their second game of the year.  In short, you'll be hard pressed to win points with a clean sheet bonus while playing the defenders from these teams -- so you may as well look to their attacking options. David Villa, within the scope of the teams offered for Saturday, has the second most shots on goal of any player. Piatti, while he doesn't have the same amount of games under his belt, still has a respectable 19 Fouls Won along with 3 goals and 3 assists. If you look a bit more at Montreal, Laurent Ciman has an astoundingly high 41 interceptions and 25 tackles on the year -- even though he's only played in 9 games. Compare that to Omar Gonzalez from LA who has 15 games played and 56 interceptions and 23 tackles. Ciman is a hidden gem. If you project out his level of production to the amount of games other teams have played, he'd be an odds on favorite to be in every team. Looking past Villa for NYCFC, try Chris Wingert for a value option. He leads his team with 537 passes completed and has a decently high 34 interceptions. He probably won't find the back of the net for you, but his production comes from his playmaking ability. [mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"]

COLUMBUS CREW VS. LA GALAXY

[mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"] THIS GAME IS OFFENSIVE The major stat of the week is that the LA Galaxy have yet to win a road fixture this year.  Use that stat to your advantage. The defending MLS champs know what they need to do to turn this season around. If nothing else, they'll be going for the attack against a porous Columbus back line. Columbus, for their part, have the league leading scorer in Kei Kamara. And the whole Columbus team will be looking to bounce back after a defeat at home against Montreal last week. Picking up Kamara will come at a premium. But he's worth it. Not only does he lead this group of players in goals, but he is also the leader in shots on target -- and he has a very decent 20 Fouls Won.  If you can't afford Kamara, look to Higuain or Finlay to at least own a piece of their attack for this week. Whatever you do, skip on the Columbus defence for now. They are really struggling as of late, and there are better options out there. For LA, skip on Robbie Keane unless you know for certain on Saturday that he'll be a starter (that's the nice thing about daily fantasy, right?). Instead, look to Gyasi Zardes or even to Jose Villareal -- the young striker is looking to this match to enter back into the lineup after time out for injury.  Villareal was such a dynamic force early in the year, if this kid gets healthy, his price will be a steal. [mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"]

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION VS. CHICAGO FIRE

[mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"] THE GAME WITH THE DIFFERENTIAL PLAYERS If we're looking at Seattle for our main defence and Columbus for our main attack, you'd have to look at this fixture for your differentials. Chicago and New England are a mixed bag. None of the truly elite players for this week will come out of this fixture, but that doesn't mean you can't find some reasonably priced talent that can round out your squad. Chicago have scored at least a goal in their last six fixtures. Even though their production comes from a variety of sources, this squad is at least finding way to stay in the game. New England, though they were shut out in their last game (which was a road fixture for them) managed to produce at least a goal in the 8 matches prior. The trick with this fixture is not overspending on their players, but you should take a chance on one or two players that have the potential to score. Starting with Chicago, the biggest value play may be Kennedy Igboananike. Igboananike scored two goals in his last match, and he should be the starter again this week with David Accam out on international duty. If you want a safer option, the dependable Harry Shipp can be a good choice, but you will have to pay a higher-end price to get him. We think the value play is the better choice in this case. With New England, key in on Scott Caldwell for a budget-price pick up. Caldwell leads the team in minutes played and has two goals and three assists on the year. Avoid Jermaine Jones and Lee Nguyen. Jones is struggling with injury and Nguyen has completely lost all form that made him a superstar last year. [mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"]

FINAL THOUGHTS

[mks_separator style="dashed" height="2"] If your daily site of choice allows you to pick your formation, go with a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1. I think that this week sets up well to have a lot of points come out of the midfield and Seattle defence. Really key in on the best home teams from this week. Seattle, Columbus and NYCFC are going to offer your best bets. Montreal would be the only away team that I would consider going deep with. Theoretically, you could toss out any Chicago and New England players as those teams just aren't producing at a high level right now.  But if you feel really strong about a player from these teams -- try to leave it at just one player. Good luck everybody!