Every Fantrax manager knows that Waiver Wire and Trade acquisitions can make or break your Fantasy EPL season. This Gameweek 18 Waiver Wire article is here to help managers pick up the best Draft Premier League players possible, as well as suggest players to potentially target for a trade with a fellow manager!
Essential reading before waiver requests process!
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Gameweek 18 Waiver Wire Targets
Here we outline Fantasy EPL Gameweek 18 Waiver Wire Targets that have 40% ownership or below on Fantrax. These players will also have a favorable run of fixtures upcoming, so they could perform very well over the upcoming period! Trade Targets will be players who look set to do well over the upcoming period, but their ownership statistics suggest they are probably taken in most draft leagues!
Dani Ceballos
Position: Midfielder
Team: Arsenal
Ownership: 38%
Next Fixture: Crystal Palace (Home)
Prospects: Ceballos had a dominating display against West Brom which translated to 14 points without any attacking returns. Arsenal comes up against an inconsistent Crystal Palace team in a week where a lot of teams won’t be playing. This makes Ceballos a must pick up ahead of this fixture. Arteta won’t tinker too much if at all with the squad that just won 4-0, so Ceballos should be a safe bet to start. He usually has a solid floor of 6-8 points but has upside if Arsenal continues to improve from an attacking perspective. He takes the odd free kick, and could see an attacking return against Palace.
Verdict: I would use a low-end waiver claim or 0-2% of my FAAB on the Arsenal midfielder.
Eric Bailly
Position: Defender
Team: Manchester United
Ownership: 8%
Next Fixture: Burnley (Away)
Prospects: Bailly is trying to stake his claim to be in the first choice XI, and so far he has done just that. Back to back monster performances, including a few goal-saving blocks and challenges should see him get the nod against Burnley. Although it didn’t translate to fantasy points, Bailly didn’t let Watkins get anything going, and could see more points against long ball central Burnley. United was great defensively against Villa, with only a slight mistake costing them a clean sheet. If Bailly continues to start this should improve the output of all United defenders. United doesn’t blank in GW18, but also has a double gameweek in GW19 making Bailly worth an add.
Verdict: I would use a low-tier waiver claim or 0-2% of my FAAB on Bailly.
Emile Smith Rowe
Position: Midfielder
Team: Arsenal
Ownership: 15%
Next Fixture: Crystal Palace (Home)
Prospects: Another Arsenal midfielder features here, this time it’s the youngster Smith Rowe who has had a great start to life in the Arsenal XI. In his first three games, the midfielder has managed six key passes and three assists. I don’t expect these numbers to continue, but he has shown that he can have tremendous upside when Arsenal perform well. Arteta will continue to give Smith Rowe ample game time if he keeps us this performance. I would rank him as a MID4 with the upside of a MID2 in friendlier matchups. He is definitely one to pick up ahead of the blank gameweek in a friendly matchup.
Verdict: I would use a low-tier waiver claim or 0% of my FAAB on Smith Rowe.
Gameweek 18 Trade-In Target
Paul Pogba
Position: Midfielder
Team: Manchester United
Next 5 Fixtures: bur (A), liv (A), ful (A), SHU (H), ars (A)
Prospects: Pogba is slowly getting back to his best, and has been a key cog in this attacking United team. In his past five starts, Pogba has one goal and two assists, and his lowest score has been seven points. Pogba was probably going in round 3-4 of most drafts and may have been dropped, or traded for next to nothing. I would recommend trying to convince his current manager that you are offering a deal that lets them sell Pogba on a “high”. I still think Pogba improves from a fantasy perspective and will offer high-end MID2 value for the rest of the season.
Verdict: I would look to offer an over-performing midfielder such as El Ghazi, Soucek, or Townsend in a deal for Pogba. I would also offer a package including a DEF2/FWD3 including players such as: Maguire, Robinson, Abraham, or Benteke.
Previous Editions: Gameweek 14 | Gameweek 15 | Gameweek 16 |
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