It’s coming home! And by ‘it,’ I mean the Nations League, the most coveted trophy England might win. Premier League returned after another good round of Nations League games, and as usual, there was plenty to talk about. Cardiff proved their manager wrong and looked quite good in a six-goal thriller, and Mourinho threw down against a Chelsea assistant no one’s ever heard of. In fantasy terms, week 9 was a week for mid-tier players. The players that aren’t elite top 30 options but are too good for the FPL Draft waiver wire. Nevertheless, some forgotten players shone again, and some lower tier players elevated themselves to fantasy relevance.
FantraxHQ will be featuring more FPL Draft content than ever before. Check out the full archive and let us know what you think.
Week 10 FPL DRaft Waiver Wire
The FPL Draft waiver wire deals with players owned in 65% or less of Fantrax Leagues.
1. Jonjo Shelvey – Midfielder – Newcastle – 65% Owned
The shiny headed midfielder might look like a builder/plumber might he was everything to Newcastle on Saturday. Shelvey was unlucky not to have an assist early on after some poor Brighton defending, and was kept out by two excellent saves from Matt Ryan later on. Shelvey spent the early part of this season sidelined with a thigh injury but certainly looked up to full speed in this one. He’s Newcastle’s talismanic hope this season and could have earned the Magpies three points on Saturday. I would expect Shelvey to take free kicks and possibly penalties for the foreseeable future. His work rate and scoring ability mean Shelvey is a high ceiling, high floor fantasy option with the opportunity to be a top 20 midfielder for the rest of the season. He is a must add on the FPL Draft waiver wire.
2. Ashley Young – Defender – Manchester United – 65% Owned
For a team in perpetual crisis, United looked pretty good again. Mourinho’s men looked like ten players, actually playing for their manager (and one playing for the gram). Ashley Young has played the full 90 minutes in United’s last three matches and is generally doing Ashley Young things. Before this close game with Chelsea, he was making crosses like Jose makes excuses. At an advanced age, Young is still performing at an elite level and looks to be somewhat nailed on at the moment. He should be considered a top 20 fantasy defender at the moment and should be picked up on the fantasy EPL waiver wire accordingly.
3. Nathan Redmond – Midfielder – Southampton – 47% Owned
What does it say about a match if Nathan Redmond’s almost assist is the highlight of the game? Southampton is unexciting and generally quite bad this season. Redmond however, has emerged as one of the safest sources of fantasy points around. If Gabbiadini had finished on Saturday, Redmond would have added an assist to his game this week. Southampton plays Newcastle next before heading to City. Redmond should be owned in a lot more leagues at this point as this kind of floor is hard to find. If Redmond isn’t claimed of the FPL Draft waiver wire, be sure to claim him as a free agent.
4. Callum Patterson – Defender – Cardiff – 60% Owned
Cardiff got a win! I had to double check the results when I saw this but it’s true, Warnock’s boys got all three points on Saturday. Cardiff’s day was helped along significantly by Fulham’s atrocious defending, but nonetheless, Cardiff doubled their season goal total this week. It’s difficult to take too much away from the game as Cardiff have looked like the worst team in the Premier League through 9 weeks. For fantasy, however, Callum Patterson is an intriguing prospect. He’s supposedly a fullback, but he spent a lot of this game playing centrally in the opponents final third (or offside). Patterson scored the third goal on Saturday and was half a step away from getting a second. I wouldn’t get too excited about any Cardiff player, but I think Patterson’s worth a shot. He’s a good pick up for teams needing a high upside defender of the fantasy EPL waiver wire.
5. Yerry Mina – Defender – Everton – 37% Owned
All aboard the Yerry Mina hype train…again. Mina was sold to the Toffees from Barcelona at the transfer window in what looked like an absolute coup. Injuries have however kept Mina out of the Everton team so far this season. He is yet to play in the Premier League but was on the bench in this match suggesting he is nearing full fitness. The World Cup might seem like a lifetime away at this point but Mina was key in Columbia’s impressive campaign. At six-four, Mina is a threat from corners and will play in front of Jordan ‘the cat’ Pickford for Everton. I am of course speculating about his role but the potential is there for Mina to be a must-start every week fantasy option. He is a high risk, high reward fantasy EPL waiver wire add this week.
Follow @Fantrax_epl to keep up with all of our fantasy soccer content.