Essential reading before your Gameweek 1 waiver wire requests process!
We have given ourselves the arbitrary threshold of 40% rostered as the level of player that most managers would find available on their waiver wire. This season we have started incorporating a second percentage, one that looks at rostership of players in the hyper-competitive Twitter-based leagues, like The #DPL Community League or the International Genie League we talk about in our Sleepers XI article over on The Draft Society.
This will include players that are likely to be available in even the most competitive of leagues (For example, ahead of the upcoming GW N’Golo Kanté might make our WW article, as he is 39% rostered officially, however, that is almost irrelevant for anyone in a competitive league as he is a whopping 100% rostered in the Community League).
We can get closer to providing relevant and useful advice for you by looking at different data sets, however, this is still not the pinnacle of waiver advice. The Pinnacle of Waiver advice is a tool we have just released over on our site that lets you get personalized waiver picks using all the available data, but customising it to your own league. This new app is called the FANTASY TOOLKIT and you can check it out for free for a limited time only if you click on the link. I will be using the Fantasy Toolkit to give you recommendations based on the personalized advice given to me by the Toolkit on my most competitive league, my Home League.
Gameweek 1 Waiver Wire Targets
Here we outline Fantasy EPL Gameweek 1 Waiver Wire Targets that are 40% rostered or below on Fantrax.
David Brooks
Position: Midfielder
Team: Bournemouth
Next Fixture: West Ham (Home)
Prospects: Brooks is back after a successful battle with cancer, and ready to make a name for himself. Brooks was considered a fantasy darling of sorts before Bournemouth were relegated a few years back – mainly due to his low draft pick/waiver wire pickup yet having a decently high ceiling. Brooks was the star of preseason for the Cherries, and will look to continue his good form into the EPL season. He was able to take majority of set pieces, and got himself 3 goals. His minutes will be an issue to start the season due to his return to fitness, but I expect him to at least get 65′ this weekend. Against a weak West Ham team he should get plenty of chances to continue his good form, or at least offer a solid floor. I expect Brooks to be a solid MID3/4 season hold.
Verdict: I would use a low-end waiver claim or 2-5 FAB.
Joel Ward
Position: Defender
Team: Crystal Palace
Next Fixture: Sheffield (Away)
Prospects: Ward was a great DEF3 streamer at the end of last season, and probably continues that into the first week. Sheffield United could very well not score this weekend giving Ward a good chance at a clean sheet. On top of that, he will have plenty of opportunity to get forward and whip in crosses against what will be a very leaky defense. I don’t expect Ward to be anything more than a solid DEF3-4 streamer, but this week he will offer DEF2 upside due to the opposition. He mainly went undrafted due to managers turning their attention to new boy Hall and reliable Andersen, but don’t be surprised if Ward is Palace’s top-scoring defender this weekend.
Verdict: I would use a low-end waiver claim or 0-1 FAB to get him.
Carney Chukwuemeka
Position: Midfielder
Team: Chelsea
Next Fixture: Liverpool (Home)
Prospects: Chukwuemeka will most likely get the nod in the attacking midfield slot this weekend. Nkunku is set to be out for 4 months, and the youngster will look to make the most of his opportunity in the XI. While I think Carney can offer decent value against a leaky Liverpool defense this weekend, I think he is definitely worth a punt given he will be an attacking midfield under an attacking-minded manager in Pochettino. He should be available in plenty of leagues, especially ones that drafted a few weeks ago. He will provide great cover for those with Chelsea assets, and a good performance this weekend could give him solid MID3-4 value, especially with Chelsea’s incredible schedule starting in gameweek 2.
Verdict: I would use a low-end waiver claim or 2-5 FAB to get him.
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