This article is part of our The Armband series.
In terms of fantasy, Major League Soccer is more like La Liga than the English Premier League. The best players in Spain more often than not produce a la Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. But in England, finding a captain each week is a little more difficult because the best players are not as consistent. The Harry Kane adventure continued this past weekend with another hat trick. He has 17 goals this season, but 12 of them have come in only five matches. In his 16 other starts, Kane has five goals.
That usually isn't a problem in MLS. In addition, the possibility for fantasy points is much larger than the FPL game. In FPL, if your captain doesn't score or assist, you're immediately put into a hole. But in MLS, players can accrue points from a second assist as well as defending and attacking bonuses. But while it's easier to score points, that just means your captain selection has to score a lot of points.
Last season, there were a few players who stood above the rest almost every gameweek, led by forwards Sebastian Giovinco (17 goals, 15 assists), David Villa (23 goals, four assists) and Bradley Wright-Phillips (24 goals, five assists), among others. But while these guys score a ton, it's all about giving the arm band to the one who goes off, such as when Giovinco went on a run of seven goals and three assists in a stretch of four matches last season, or when Villa closed the campaign with six goals and two assists in the final four games. But that doesn't mean you should only captain these three guys – granted it'd be a good strategy if you had them all on your team. Like in any other league, or sport, backing players at home is a no brainer and that's where we'll start for the first week.
The aforementioned players are all on the road, though Giovinco gets the nod above the other two due to his playmaking. The opening match on Friday between Portland and Minnesota will draw a lot of eyes. The Timbers are a completely different side (way better) at Providence Park and get to open against expansion team Minnesota United. That leaves Diego Valeri and Fanendo Adi at the top of lists, with Valeri the safer of the two. The Galaxy are at home and have some new faces to work with, but Giovani dos Santos remains and he'll hope to build on his first full season in the league. At times, dos Santos looks unstoppable, always around the net setting up teammates or scoring himself, but he doesn't show that every match. That inconsistency was a main reason he wasn't on the same level as someone like Giovinco last season. But starting at home against FC Dallas, dos Santos should get off to a nice start.
On the other end of Giovinco and Toronto, Joao Plata would be an interesting captain selection going against his former club. Still just 25 years old, Plata is coming off one of his best all-around campaigns (nine goals, 12 assists). One player who may not get much consideration in the first week, but could easily change that within a month is Ola Kamara. The Norwegian came on strong last season and eventually broke through with a hat trick three months into the campaign. Columbus hosted Chicago at the end of last season and won 3-0. Banking on Kamara to match what the Crew did in that game isn't a bad idea.
And if you don't want to follow the rest and captain a big name, Cyle Larin, at home against NYC FC, can't be forgotten. Larin got more attention and didn't produce as consistently as the year before, but with one more year of experience, the 21-year-old will be primed to reach the 20-goal mark in 2017.
