Fantasy Liga MX: Saturday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EDT)

6:00 p.m: Queretaro v. Necaxa
8:00 p.m: Tigres v. Veracruz
8:00 p.m: Atlas v. Cruz Azul
8:06 p.m: Pachuca v. Monterrey
10:00 p.m: Club America v. Guadalajara

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Queretaro: Neri Cardozo
Necaxa: Luis Gallegos
Atlas: Candido Ramirez
Cruz Azul: Joao Rojas
Tigres: Jose Francisco Torres
Veracruz: Juan Perez
Pachuca: Urreta
Monterrey: Carlos Sanchez
America: Rubens Sambueza
Chivas: Carlos Cisneros

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

Nahuel Guzman, TIG vs. VER ($5,700): I know it seems like taking the easy way out to just recommend the highest-priced goalkeeper for the second week in a row, so I will quickly rehash why Guzman is the premier play and then give some GPP advice. For cash games, get on the Guzman train. He conceded twice last week in a high-scoring game, but he is still looking stellar on the season by giving up fewer than a goal every two games. Tigres are rolling defensively and are an incredible -300 favorite over Veracruz. With the under 2.5 set at -105 and Veracruz getting 1.5 goals on the asian handicap, oddsmakers certainly aren't convinced anything is going to get past Guzman.

Jesus Corona, CRZ at ATL ($4,400): Just because I have given so much love to Guzman lately, I need to talk about another keeper. With so many home teams expected to win, picking a road keeper will definitely give you a diverse lineup in tournaments. Atlas against Cruz Azul is projected to be a low-scoring tossup, heavily favoring a 0-0 or 1-1 draw. If Corona can play up to his usual standard, he can fight for a clean sheet, and worst case scenario is that he will get his usual 5-8 saves from poor, long range shots that Atlas love.

DEFENDER

Adrian Aldrete, CRZ at ATL ($5,600): I have written up Aldrete a few times before, and to be be honest I will probably be going cheaper on defense this slate, but how can his price stay so stable in the low-$5K range? Between Aldrete and Luis Reyes of Atlas, they have pretty much eliminated the need for the highest-priced defenders on any given slate. While Reyes is still a bit too inconsistent for my cash game considerations, I love rostering Aldrete. He is one of the most consistent options in this league, and the floor is right there around that magic 10 points. Again, is a matchup on the road against Atlas a great matchup? No, but there are plenty of teams who have it worse off this week.

Jonathan Bornstein, QUE vs. NEC ($5,200): While his game logs are now slightly skewed by his goal last week, I think this is a defender trending upwards. Maybe his ownership will be a little inflated, but even without scoring he is certainly capable of a double-digit fantasy outing based on his aggression with tackles and defensive IQ. Add in the fact that they get a visit from Necaxa in what should be a very low-scoring affair, and a clean sheet wouldn't be surprising.

Jairo Gonzalez, NEC at QUE ($2,600): This is not a ringing endorsement of Necaxa; I don't think Necaxa will get a clean sheet, etc. What this is a huge price miscalculation. Gonzalez knocked in six crosses last week and was close to a double-digit fantasy performance until a yellow card derailed those efforts. Are Necaxa, dare I say, going to open up the field a bit more? This is a promising "buy low" situation and Gonzalez doesn't have to do much to maximize returns.

MIDFIELD

Urreta, PCH vs. MNT ($11,100): It has come to my attention that some people are still not rostering Urreta. These people do not like winning at DFS soccer. The hardest part about this article is finding new reasons to roster Urreta that I haven't already said. In all seriousness, again, Pachuca are my second favorite team to get the win and this is the game that is most likely to go over. When Pachuca scores, there is Urreta involvement somewhere in the play.

Osvaldo Martinez, AMR vs. GUA ($8,000): Aside from Pachuca against Monterrey, this is the only other match that I think has a chance to hit the over. Obviously coming off one of the highest scoring league weeks I've ever seen (every team scored, only five did not score multiple goals) that is a risky statement, but these are more even matchups, and while I'm not particularly fond of picking on Chivas, I do think this game has the potential to open up and give Martinez ample opportunities to contribute offensively.

Jose Francisco Torres, TIG vs. VER ($4,300): Off to the bargain bin for some of those savings you are desperately going to need if you want to try and fit in a Gignac/Urreta combo. Keep an eye on starting lineups, but Torres played the whole 90 against Pachuca and was very impressive, winning six tackles and sending in four crosses. This is a small price bump, but he is still way too cheap if he is going to be on the field and responsible for crosses in this matchup against Veracruz.

FORWARD

Andre-Pierre Gignac, TIG vs. VER ($13,200): It's so much money, I know. And you have to play Urreta, so that's almost half your salary gone in two spots, but there is so much value out there that I think you can afford to snag Gignac. I think this price will drive some of his ownership down, and while I spent all last year complaining about his price I am willing to pay it week in and week out now. With Rafael Sobis gone, Gignac's floor has increased substantially. He's taking more shots and getting more of them on target, and that's what I like in a forward. Sure he is coming off a Ronaldo-esque day on DraftKings where he went for 39 points, but I'm more impressed by the previous week where he still put up eight points without scoring. That isn't ideal, but it isn't lineup crippling either, as his non-scoring games used to be. But don't fret, he will be scoring against Veracruz.

Martin Barragan, ATL vs. CRZ ($5,100): GPP disclaimer: I like Barragan as a tournament play that should be low-owned, but I am still personally debating if I am going to go this route in cash games. He is the cheap forward we like to fit into a high-powered, expensive, offensive combo, but while he is coming off consecutive games with a goal, Atlas is not in a great spot here. Sure, they're at home, but I think oddsmakers have undervalued Cruz Azul in this situation and I am really hesitant to pick on them given such confidence in a low total. That being said, last week's goal came on the road at Chivas in one of Atlas's biggest matches of the year, so can we really say the situation has affected Barragan so far?