DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Saturday MLS Value Plays

This article is part of our DraftKings Fantasy Soccer series.

Welcome to RotoWire's renovated DraftKings article. We're going to examine two potential winning lineups for this weekend's slate and dive into the strategic side of lineup construction, while still presenting a bundle of great plays to target. Keep in mind that there are countless ways to build a winning DraftKings lineup, and these are just two approaches for this week. Let us know what you think of the change either in the comments below or on Twitter!

Lineup No. 1: David and Goal-iath

This lineup is all about targeting top goal scorers and worrying about our budget later. Clint Dempsey and David Villa are two of the more prolific scorers in the league, and though one hasn't been performing quite at that level, they both make for great plays this week on their home pitches. Unfortunately, they are two of the three most expensive options along with the $11,100 Kei Kamara. I won't judge anyone grabbing the electric Kamara this week, but L.A. poses a tough defensive challenge that sets him behind these two top choices in my eyes.

Now that we are like a college kid in Las Vegas for spring break and have lost all of our budget on the first day, we must figure out how to survive the rest of the trip. I am simultaneously looking to grab one premier midfielder while trying to save as much money as possible at the goalkeeper position. My love for Ignacio Piatti knows no bounds, and he fits my "barrage of shots" mentality in building this team. Montreal on a small Yankee Stadium field is intriguing, and I don't know if they will excel, but they'll get chances against NYC FC. While Piatti is in the discussion for top midfield play, he's only the seventh most expensive, which appeals to our tight budget.

The goalkeeping options have now been trimmed -- Josh Saunders, Evan Bush and Dan Kennedy all are playing against our key players so they're out of the picture. Stefan Frei is a good play, but too pricey, and Bobby Shuttleworth is nearly as expensive with worse form lately. I'm settling on Jaime Penedo, who is priced in the middle of the pack but plays behind a great back line and should get plenty of opportunities to pile up the saves. Sure, he is on the road where L.A. have yet to win, but Columbus have struggled to win lately too despite their potent attack.

The foundation of our lineup is complete, and now our value plays could go any number of ways. Alan Gordon and Michel both present cheap options that fit our goal-scoring mentality. Both are on the road, but Gordon is a top-five header of the ball facing off against a smaller back line, and Michel is a top-five free kick taker. Michel will almost certainly not grab a clean sheet, and Gordon isn't going to get you many peripheral fantasy points if he doesn't score, but at this point we might as well push our chips all-in.

Finding cheap defenders isn't easy this week, so Oscar Sorto's price and compatibility with Penedo make him an attractive option. We're left with budget option Cristian Roldan in Seattle's midfield. He's a promising rookie who has gotten better each time he sees the field, and Seattle is a heavy favorite against Dallas so I'm not upset to be stuck with him.

Devil's Advocate: This lineup is too top-heavy and isn't concerned enough to getting clean sheet points out of its defense. If the big three don't produce, then we're almost surely in trouble. We also have no action in the New England-Chicago match which should see some goals. Finally, this lineup will require diligent monitoring of the starting lineups as Michel, Sorto, Roldan and Gordon aren't surefire starting options.

Why We'll Win: We have three premier players who could easily all find the back of the goal and get us points in multiple other ways (think shots and fouls drawn especially). Out of our other picks, we only need one to strike gold. This lineup isn't for the faint of heart, but it sure is a lot of fun!

Lineup No. 2: Nguyen-ing Values

Now, the best way to consistently win daily fantasy contests is to identify the key values each weekend. We've filled our lineup with under-priced talent. Players like Lee Nguyen and Blas Perez have fallen in price from their better stretches early on this year, but are discounted from their previous prices in the $8,000-to-$9,000 range. Perez is returning from international duty and is the type of player who could come up big in a hostile road match. Dallas need the boost, and Perez had six shots last time they played on the road in Montreal. Nguyen hasn't had nearly the MVP-type of performance he did last season, but he is still the go-to guy in the Revs' attack and Chicago is not a team that should scare us defensively. Nguyen generally has one of the higher floors for a midfielder in daily fantasy, similar to Mauro Diaz, but one of those options is playing at home and the other will have to deal with a Seattle defense that has allowed the fewest goals this season.

While we noted that Los Angeles has a stout defense earlier, Ethan Finlay is tied for the league lead in assists with seven and given that Columbus is without Justin Meram (international duty), he's a good bet to play all 90 minutes. While it's tempting to pay a bit more for Piatti, Finlay is still a good value for $7,300. Our remaining offensive spot goes to Kennedy Igboananike, who is desperate to get a featured spot atop Chicago's attack. In his two games above 70 minutes, he has combined for a goal, assist, seven shots and a handful of crosses and fouls drawn. While I think New England might be a sneaky good play in defense this week, I also love Igboananike's high ceiling relative to a fairly safe floor.

Unfortunately, our defensive budget once again is suffering, and we're left to pick out some value plays. Bush has at least eight points in seven of Montreal's last eight matches and costs just $4,100. He has won people a good deal of cash on DraftKings this season, and if you don't have David Villa in your lineup, he is a logical play with both a potential clean sheet and a high save total. Shay Facey, the promising young Manchester City loanee, is a cheap defensive option on the other side of that match. NYC FC have shown short flashes of great defending and could also get a clean sheet. If you want to stack Montreal defense, Donny Toia is an equally priced alternative. Lastly, Lovel Palmer should step in for Joevin Jones (international duty) for the Chicago Fire. Like Jones, Palmer enjoys getting up the flank, but unfortunately he has a pretty brutal touch (hence the bargain bin price).

Downgrading Finlay or Perez to Lamar Neagle or another cheap play you like could open up some salary relief to improve this defense if that makes you more comfortable.

Devil's Advocate: With only one of the big three forwards this week, this lineup is relying on several players stepping up. Finding value is great, but there's usually a reason they are priced where they are. Are the attacking options sure-fire enough to warrant us overlooking defensive standouts Chris Tierney and Tyrone Mears among others?

Why We'll Win: If we're playing in a tournament, both Perez and Nguyen should be severely under-owned relative to their potential. Both have the ability to stuff the score sheet and both are desperate to get back to their scoring ways. Our well-balanced attacking approach could pay huge dividends and, at the least, should keep us in the race well into the last match of the night. The high priced defenders don't feel worth it this week, so by grabbing some cheap options, we're able to invest more in the positions that tend to grab us more points than our opponents. Evan Bush is the best value in goal, and has a good track record against offenses far more multi-dimensional than the David Villa-led NYC FC.