This article is part of our The Armband series.
The double gameweeks in Fantasy MLS are never-ending, but that's not always a good thing as seen with Dallas last week. Only a few players managed to start both matches, and even then Dallas ended up scoring only one goal, though a final clean sheet helped anyone who decided to captain Matt Hedges.
Instead, last week was mostly a mixed bag of results. Usual names like Justin Morrow, Miguel Almiron and Giovani dos Santos had successful weekends, but it was everyone else who made last week a bit more difficult than the rest in terms of fantasy. Rapids defender Kortne Ford had the lone goal against Kansas City to go with a clean sheet, while Cristian Roldan was the top Seattle midfielder and Danny Hoesen led the way for San Jose up front. Then, of course, there were situations like that of Kevin Molino – one of my top captain plays – who came down with an illness just hours before his match on Saturday.
With eight teams having two matches in Round 14, the goal is to find the players who will most likely appear in both. It's never a guarantee as to whom that will be, but at least we have a few more weeks of experience to get a good idea. For example, only a couple weeks ago Columbus had two matches, which saw Justin Meram and Federico Higuain start both, while Ola Kamara was rested in the second. For Meram, he was actually subbed off early for tactical reasons last match, so he at least should be fresh going into the Wednesday game.
There's one team that stands above the rest in terms of schedule, with NYC FC having two home matches against teams that have struggled on the road (New England and Philadelphia). David Villa will undoubtedly be a favorite for the armband even if he only plays one match. For his last double gameweek, Villa came off the bench in the midweek match and then scored a brace in the weekend game. In terms of playing time, Maximiliano Moralez and Alexander Callens have started every match this season, so they'd be a logical turning point if Villa isn't on the table.
Orlando also has two home matches (D.C., Chicago), but with only two points in its last six matches, not many will be turning that way. Cyle Larin has started every match this season, but he has just one goal in his last seven, while others like Kaka and Jonathan Spector won't be asked to play 90 minutes in both games. In fact, Kaka was already ruled out for Wednesday's match.
As for the other five teams, all will have one home and one away match except for Real Salt Lake. Nicolas Lodeiro will be on most radars, as he's played every minute this season for the Sounders. A trip to Columbus will be tough, but at home against Houston on Sunday should produce multiple goals for the home side. Roldan has also played every minute this season, though he isn't as reliable as Lodeiro, while the forward position will be unknown with Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris on international duty.
The Dynamo will be the next team to consider, as they're finally home after a three-game road trip. There's a big question at forward as to who will play in both matches, but Alex should be set to start both. Erick Torres was rested in the second game the last time Houston had a double, though he did score off the bench. The biggest thing for anyone on the Dynamo is that they start in the home match against Real Salt Lake. Houston has 19 goals in seven home matches, while RSL has allowed 15 in seven on the road.
As for the rest, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone that will be captaining a player from D.C. (at Orlando, v. Los Angeles) or RSL (at Houston, at Dallas). Albert Rusnak would be a reasonable player to back, but it's not a guarantee he plays in both matches and both are on the road, so that's even more of a detractor. The Revs have an equally difficult schedule, traveling to NYC FC and then hosting Toronto. They are a good home team and Lee Nguyen has scored or assisted in five of the last six matches, but other than him, it'd be wise to stay away.
If you hate double gameweeks, Portland (v. San Jose), Kansas City (v. Minnesota) and Dallas (v. Real Salt Lake) all have favorable spots to score and secure clean sheets. But finding a captain in that bunch to pick over someone like Lodeiro, Villa or even Nguyen feels like a stretch.
