Your Week Three Major League Soccer Fantasy Primer

I'll begin by apologizing for not giving The Mane Land's faithful fans a fantasy article last week. I'm going to make it my mission to provide our wonderful fans with "expert" fantasy advice every week.

I'm currently in second to Brenner Gagne and Start Wearing Purple in the blog's fantasy group. He rolled with four OCSC players last week, which made the difference.

Three Players to Watch This Weekend

Fernando Aristeguieta, F, Philadelphia Union. The Venezuelan forward is bound to turn some heads scoring two goals against the usually defensively sound Real Salt Lake, and leads Philadelphia in shots and shots on goal with nine and four, respectively. $7.6 is a deal for goal-scoring talent but it’s too early to tell if he’ll keep this up. The Union play FC Dallas Friday night on UniMas, so Aristeguieta has a chance to sell himself to a national audience. FC Dallas has looked good early in the season

Lee Nguyen, M, New England Revolution. Nguyen returned to action for the Revs in their 2-0 loss to New York City FC and made it 70 minutes, after missing the club’s season opener with a groin injury. New England’s attack hasn’t looked good, recording zero goals and only two shots on target in the first two matches of the season, but this week’s showdown with the Montreal Impact could be different. Montreal’s going to be the team to pick on this year (at least for fantasy purposes) and this match could be a great chance for Nguyen to get the New England attack back in order. If you spent big on the 2014 MLS MVP finalist, this is the game that could steer your decision whether to buy or sell, since he carries an $11 price tag, which is the asking price for elite midfield talent.

Jermaine Taylor, D, Houston Dynamo. Houston’s attack might have some issues but the defense isn’t lacking for quality. The Dynamo back four has played lights out in the first two games. Tyler Deric is responsible for a lot that — although his own goal mistake showed his inexperience — but the center backs have performed well on their own. Taylor might be the guy to stick with between he and Raul Rodriguez. Taylor’s scored 15 points in two games, with defending bonuses in both. $6.6 isn’t a lot to ask for at the position. Houston plays the LA Galaxy on the road this weekend and a good showing against one of MLS’ top forward duos will be a testament to Taylor and this back line.

If you have to use an Orlando City player (who’s not Kaka) …

I would bet my entire trading card collection that everyone in our Mane Land league rostered him. Okay, maybe I won't be that bold but it's probably close to 95 percent. He's excellent but not the only Lion worth using.

Use Rafael Ramos. He's a cheaper defensive option at $5.5 and OCSC's done a solid job of keeping opposing teams out of goal. Ramos is in fine form so far and features heavily in attacking build-up. The low price tag could pay dividends if he gets an assist or a goal against the Whitecaps, plus the bonus points that come with defense and clean sheets. Vancouver takes a ton of shots at the goal –39 total shots and 13 shots on goal so far — but hasn't had too much luck with the finishing touch.