Liga MX: Saturday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EDT)

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

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Queretaro: Yerson Candelo
Puebla: Carlos Alberto Guzman
Atlas: Luis Reyes
Veracruz: Daniel Villalva
Monterrey: Carlos Sanchez
Cruz Azul: Victor Vazquez
Pachuca: Urreta
Necaxa: Xavier Baez, Luis Gallegos
America: Rubens Sambueza
Tigres: Jorge Torres Nilo

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

Note: prices listed below are from DraftKings

GOALKEEPER

Pedro Gallese, VER at ATL ($3,600): I will be honest, for the first time in my DFS soccer history I do not actually see a bad choice in goal. The scheduling for this matchweek is brilliant and each pair of teams is very close in ability and expectations. Most of the matches are expected to be close, and the over 2.5 goals is only a favorite in two of the five, which is why it would be impossible to overlook Gallese when he has the same odds of a good play for a $2,000 discount. DraftKings' pricing algorithm still refuses to acknowledge Gallese as Veracruz's first choice goalkeeper and is becoming almost Clayton Kershaw-esque in regards to 'must play at this price.' It doesn't hurt that he is fresh off a commanding six-save performance against Santos. Atlas played well last week but still lacked finishing power and should be troubled again, as they historically struggle against Veracruz.

DEFENDER

Miguel Samudio, AMR vs. TIG ($4,800): Again, I am giving Tigres the lowest odds of winning on this slate and recommend everyone have one of the America defenders in order to find a few clean sheet points. Samudio should be the obvious choice based on upside and ability, but when you factor in that Paul Aguilar is still sitting at $7,200 (for a defender!), this becomes an easy call. Spend up elsewhere.

Luis Reyes, ATL vs. VER ($3,800): As someone who plans on rostering Reyes often throughout the season, we caught a lucky break last week when Atlas played Tigres. That was the most lethargic effort I have seen Tigres give in a while, and it resulted in Reyes needing to put in almost no effort. His non-existent fantasy performance keeps his price low for this much better matchup, and his game log should scare people off. Veracruz is a bit more reckless with the ball, and that should pad his defensive statistics.

Julian Velazquez, CRZ at MNT ($3,200): It's important to point out when making this pick that I am by no means saying that Cruz Azul has clean sheet potential or that Velazquez will be the highest scoring player on this slate. No, complete roster construction is what the goal is and by spending down for someone like Velazquez, we can afford to get the high-floor midfielders we all covet. This is the cheapest defender that should play the whole game and be able to pay off his salary. Don't expect the world, but a solid five-point effort will go a long way here.

MIDFIELDER

Rubens Sambueza, AMR vs TIG ($11,700): If I had to pick one of the ten teams on this slate that has the best chance of picking up the win, I would rank America at the top. Not only have Tigres failed to impress in their first two matches, they have failed to score. They appear to be a team that are still waiting for their offseason acquisitions to gel, and America should take advantage of this at home. Unfortunately, Sambueza has not gotten off to a hot start either, but with no realistically productive pivots I think it is certainly worth the risk to pay up and assume that any big game on America's part will center around this man.

Urreta, PCH vs. NEC ($7,900): See last week's article for why I am rostering Urreta. And next week's. And the week after. Seriously, until they start adding some zeros after his price, his skill set makes him way too cheap almost every weekend. Hirving Lozano ($10,900) will always be the chalk play while Urreta carries a crazy high floor with crossing and scoring ability. Believe it or not, the stingy Necaxa is also the team that is pegged to allow the most goals on this slate, which adds to Urreta's value and speaks to his creativity. In case you were wondering, April 30 is the last time Urreta sent in fewer than seven crosses.

Victor Vazquez, CRZ at MNT ($4,400): Vazquez has everything we love in a good value midfielder: he contributes on both ends of the field, he never leaves the pitch, and he carries a good floor. It would be a rare occasion if Vazquez was the most noticeable player, but he quietly puts up good defensive statistics and has been crossing the ball a lot more than last season, as his nine crosses through the first twp games is over a quarter of his total for the entirety of last season.

FORWARD

Oribe Peralta, AMR vs. TIG ($10,700): Goals are predicted to be incredibly hard to come by this weekend and it is going to be hard to justifying paying up for a one-dimensional forward. Peralta's price makes it affordable to chase the multi-goal upside, but he has shown an increased role in all aspects of the attack this season and has shown a legitimate floor. Last season, he was prone to multiple one or two-point games, but he seems like a completely different player with three goals and two assists in the first two games, adding in 10 shots as well.

Emanuel Villa, QUE vs. PUE ($6,000): Two things hold true in DFS: people will always find a way to target well-known matchups, and they will always find a way to roster marquee names. Villa, facing a Puebla team that is a downgrade from last tournament, is certainly not in those categories, but Queretaro is a favorite in this matchup, and more importantly, Villa is averaging 12 fantasy points per game through the first two while only scoring one goal. There is no team that is projecting to have an outburst of scoring, so targeting cheaper, high-floor players is always the smart move on this tricky slate.