Fantasy MLS Tips � Mondogoal Daily Fantasy Football Tips � Round 24 � August 15 & 16, 2015 For the purposes of this article, all prices and points are via our partners Mondogoal. This week Mondogoal is giving us two different gaming days in which to play.  You can either choose the Saturday option with five matches, or you can go a bit more bold and try to get lucky on Sunday with two matches.  Two-match events are harder to win because it's a bit of a lottery trying to find that one defender who happens to get forward for an assist, but we'll do our best to have you covered whichever way you choose to go. The matches for Saturday (15/8) are: NYRB v. Toronto New England v. Houston SKC v. Vancouver Dallas v. LA RSL v. Portland The Sunday (16/8) matches are: Seattle v. Orlando Philadelphia v. Chicago

#1)  GOALKEEPER AND DEFENDER TIPS

Saturday: Dan Kennedy ($5.0).  The Dallas keeper has been turning in some decent results at home lately.  Dallas' last four home games have produced two shutouts and two matches with one goal allowed.  In fact, Kennedy is averaging a healthy 7.8 points for owners over that stretch at home, and it's always good when your players can score more points than their dollar value.  Now, the main obstacle for Dallas will be the fact that LA are coming to town.  Don't let that scare you off too quickly. LA haven't been great on the road this year, and they've been even worse in road games with high heat.  After doing a bit of digging, we can see that it's going to be 100 degrees on the day of the game -- and indeed it's going to be 100+ degrees in Dallas all week.  For those that don't remember the Houston v. LA game, the Galaxy simply melted in the high heat.  Sometimes home teams get the benefit of a large raucous crowd.  Texas teams get the benefit of a mid-summer heat that defeats unsuspecting travelers. If you wanted to pair a defender with Kennedy, take Zach Loyd ($7.5).  Loyd is averaging a decent 6.57 points over his last four matches.  With a team like LA running slower than normal, clearances and and blocks should be easier to come by. Outside of the Dallas fixture, take a chance on Pah Modou Kah while he's still affordable at $7.3.  The Vancouver defender has a tough fixture in SKC, but the defender has been on the attack with a staggering three goals over his last two matches.  Kah has really taken Waston's former place as the defender to watch on set pieces.  Will he get a clean sheet?  It's doubtful.  But he will be a part of the Vancouver attack from spot kicks. Sunday Your preference should be for a Philly keeper here.  The tricky part is going to be figuring out which keeper plays against a woeful Chicago team.  Brian Sylvestre ($5.1) is the incumbent keeper that is on the mend from a hand injury.  The latest word on his recovery is that the stitches are out of his hand and that he's been practicing.  If he's still not able to go though, John McCarthy ($5.1) will be the starter in his place.  Either way, you want any keeper playing at home against Chicago.  Going back to the beginning of July, Chicago have played three away fixtures and have been shut out once and held to a single goal twice.  And this week they are going from Portland all the way over to Philadelphia -- not many road trips between two stadiums can be much farther apart than that.  Just continue to check the news on Philly leading up to Sunday to see if the Union coaches tip their hands one way or another for which keeper will get the start. Choosing a defender from Philly is an easier ask, Raymond Gaddis ($7.5) has been on a decent stretch of points lately, averaging 6.2 ppg over his last five appearances.  Given the futility of the Chicago attack on the road, you could even be so bold as to choose another Philadelphia defender and go with Fabinho ($7.5) who scored 9.2 points in his last outing. Another angle would be to take a gamble on Orlando's defense away to Seattle.  Seattle have been sputtering for the past few months and just aren't in any kind of form right now.  Prior to scoring a single goal last week against LA, Seattle had been shut out of their previous three matches.  It's unclear if Seattle will be getting any of their stars back at this point, but in the absence of Dempsey or Martins, Orlando should have a clear path to some easy points.  Again, check the lineups before confirming your final squad and see if a grouping of Orlando defenders makes sense for you.

#2)  MIDFIELDER TIPS

Saturday Even though I just got done warning you about LA in the heat, LA's newest additon, Giovani Dos Santos ($5.4), may be one of those players that can still function in a warmer setting.  True, he may be value priced, but his opening day total of 17.18 points bodes well for the Mexican international.  While the rest of the LA squad may sit languishing in the heat, Dos Santos should have the pace to get in front of the play and at least be the player to accumulate shots on target. On the opposite side of the ball, Mauro Diaz ($12.7) will be one of the focal points for the Dallas attack.  The midfielder is averaging 15.3 points per game over his last three matches at home.  Really, his return this year since his injury plagued season a year ago has been a welcome site to fans and fantasy players alike.  Don't expect a player of Diaz's caliber to be star-struck when the LA squad steps on to the field.  Diaz is a star in his own right and deserves the price tag. Benny Feilhaber ($13.6) will get a home fixture against a far-traveling Vancouver side this week.  The one worry with Feilhaber will be the extensive minutes he played mid-week in his Cup match.  But by all accounts, his fitness is at a peak level, and he's the engine that runs the SKC team.  Also consider this, the last time Feilhaber scored below 5 points in a match was all the way back in March.  That's a huge testament to his consistency. Sunday Kaka ($10.8) will be traveling to Seattle, and like we said above, Seattle are just awful right now.  There are some concerns with Kaka's fitness right now, so be sure to check the official lineup prior to locking him in.  If he is fit to start, he should be in all teams based on how easy of a challenge Seattle will be.  Every team is finding gaping holes in the Seattle defense, and Kaka is smart enough to fully take advantage of a team that's playing aimless football. Christian Maidana ($9.4) is the smart play for Philly this week.  Not only are the Union getting an inferior opponent in Chicago, but Maidana has now firmly cemented himself as the real star of this Philadelphia team.  Maidana is averaging 9.18 points per game over his last five matches total, and a team like Chicago should allow him to see that average actually rise by a few points by the time all is said and done.

#3)  FORWARD TIPS

Saturday The surprising news is that Sebastian Giovinco actually dropped in price this week from $15.8 to $15.3 -- and that $0.5 in savings could be potentially a huge boost to smart players.  Giovinco is only one game removed from a massive 33.63 score, and his potential to continue to score remains ever-present.  The NYRB will pose a bit of a challenge for Giovinco this week seeing as Toronto are playing on the road, but Gio will still get his chances.  Like we've said before, Giovinco is the player that you pick so that you won't lose.  Just assume that the rest of the league will have him in their rosters and plan accordingly. Bradley Wright-Phillips ($11.3) will be playing opposite Giovinco, and BWP has been a steady pick for several weeks now.  It's been seven matches since BWP failed to not get credit for a shot, so even when he's not scoring goals, he's getting you points.  The upside is that during that stretch of seven matches, BWP has actually accumulated five goals, so there really isn't a downside to playing him this week.  Add to that the fact that Toronto have an abysmal defense, and BWP should also be heavily considered to be in nearly all of your lineups this weekend. Sunday Cyle Larin ($7.9) should have a rebound game against Seattle this week.  Maybe the calmer weather and the weakened opponent will set Larin right after two games that produced relative blanks for the young striker.  A lot of Larin's production will hinge on Kaka being present to take some of the attention off of him, so make sure that Orlando's lineup is favorable for you.  Even so, if Kaka doesn't play, Larin's price still makes it possible to take a punt on him against the Sounders just based on the poor Seattle form alone. CJ Sapong ($8.1) will also be in the same boat that Larin is in this week -- mainly looking towards a weaker team to get back on track.  Earlier this summer, Sapong went four straight matches with a goal.  Since that stretch in early June though, Sapong has only managed to notch a single goal in two months.  This Chicago team should be just what Sapong needs to build his scores up again.  And let's face it, there's not a lot else to choose from on the Sunday matches, so Sapong may be the smartest choice whether you think he's up to snuff or not.

#4)  BUDGET PLAYERS

Saturday Diego Fagundez ($6.7, M) will be playing at home this week against Houston, and the young midfielder has been able to post some decent scores as of late.  In the three games he's played since returning to the starting lineup, Fagundez has been able to maintain an average score of 6.62 points per game.  It's nothing to get too crazy over, but a steady score at this price range will be a welcome sight for many owners who had to buy Giovinco and BWP in tandem. Diego Chara ($6.6, M) will be traveling to RSL for this Saturday's game, and on the surface it may not look like the best game to invest in too many of Portland's players.  Chara is great at what he does though, and he deserves a second look to cheaply fill a roster spot.  Not only has he posted an average score of 6.0 points over his last three matches, but he has a very hefty 774 passes completed stat for the year.  He's not going to shoot often, but he is constantly pumping passes in and out racking up incremental point totals for the entire game. Sunday Darwin Ceren ($7.0, M) has been a bright spot in Orlando's team lately.  The midfielder has seen an increased share of play in the attacking third, and he's really linked up well with Larin and Higuita.  Ceren is a bit hit or miss, but in the right conditions he can produce double digit points.  Ceren may actually be a better play if Kaka isn't a starter since he'll be tasked with picking up more of the slack for Orlando. Christian Roldan ($6.0, M) may have to pick up Seattle's torch and help lead the attack if Barrett and Martins remain sidelined.  Roldan has come on the last two games as a sub, but prior to that he was a starter for four straight matches.  Seattle may simply be out of options right now and Roldan will have to find a way to give a bit more to compensate for Seattle's injuries.  As a value play, Roldan has some merit because he's still an unproven quantity who will be given the minutes needed to prove himself.  Whether you strike gold with Roldan or not remains to be seen, but as a differential play, he could surprise a few people.