Ahead of each Premier League gameweek, I'll take a look at sub-50 percent rostered players on Fantrax and Sleeper whose situations may have changed or improved, and assess whether or not they are worth a pickup in season-long leagues.
Fantrax & Sleeper Waiver Wire Pickups for Gameweek 7
With six gameweeks in the books, fantasy managers now have a clearer picture of which players are delivering consistent value and which roster spots still need upgrades. Gameweek 7 offers a chance to take advantage of in-form players who remain under-rostered on Fantrax and Sleeper, from goalkeepers benefiting from soft fixtures to midfielders finding more attacking involvement.
Below, I highlight the top waiver wire pickups across every position to help strengthen your squad before the weekend GW7 slate.
For more help setting your lineup, check out our Fantrax & Sleeper rankings, cheat sheets, and projected lineups before the weekend matches.
GOALKEEPER
Emiliano Martinez (46% Fantrax, 55% Sleeper)
Villa finally got a result at the weekend during the 3-1 victory over Fulham. Martinez has scored at least 5.25 points over his last three starts, which is better than most goalkeepers.
Villa get the best matchup in the league in GW7, home against Burnley who just let up five to Manchester City. Bart Verbruggen (12% Fantrax, 22% Sleeper) is more widely available who also has a good matchup away to Wolves.
DEFENDERS
Ferdi Kadioglu (7% Fantrax, 12% Sleeper)
Brighton have a good matchup this coming gameweek and I'm a fan of Kadioglu's game from left-back. He's started back-to-back fixtures combining for two chances created, four crosses and six tackles, and he scored 7.25 points during Saturday's 3-1 win over Chelsea. Kadioglu offers a solid floor from full-back and will get a boosted chance at a clean sheet against Wolves at the weekend.
The one worry for playing time and starts is a healthy again Maxim De Cuyper.
Use our Fixture Difficulty Ranker to spot easy or tough schedules for the rest of the season
Lucas Digne (46% Fantrax, 51% Sleeper)
Digne was dropped by nearly 10 percent of teams heading into this past week, making him eligible for this article. He responded by assisting one of Villa's three goals Sunday and he seems to have cemented himself as the starting left-back with Ian Maatsen being used as more of the midweek option. Digne isn't the fantasy player he once was, as he no longer has a role on set pieces, but he remains a strong attacking full-back option for fantasy.
MIDFIELDERS
Sean Longstaff (3% Fantrax, 0% Sleeper)
Longstaff was the player of the weekend as his 39 points led all players in Gameweek 6. The midfielder has become a regular, starting the last four straight matches, and he's scored below 6.5 points just once over that stretch. I wouldn't expect this kind of upside again from Longstaff, though his potential takeover of corner kicks for Leeds does give him a boost to his floor.
Following early injuries to Ao Tanaka and Ethan Ampadu, he found a place in the XI and until something changes, it doesn't seem like he's giving it up.
Nico O'Reilly (15% Fantrax, % Sleeper)
I wish O'Reilly were defender eligible since he plays at full-back for City. But despite being only midfield eligible, he's still way under rostered for his role in the starting XI. O'Reilly isn't a zero in attack, but it's his tackles that really add up for fantasy with 11 in his last three Premier League starts. City are in a good stretch of games as they don't play a fellow big-six club until Nov. 29.
FORWARDS
Dilane Bakwa (17% Fantrax, 24% Sleeper)
Bakwa has started back-to-back fixtures for the first time since joining Forest and has scored eight and nine fantasy points despite not having a goal involvement. Bakwa has been a strong crosser of the ball and even found his way into some corner kicks this past weekend during the 1-0 loss to Sunderland. The main questions are if Bakwa will continue to start ahead of Callum Hudson-Odoi or if he'll ever be considered a 90-minute player while Forest deal with UEFA games.
Danny Welbeck (32% Fantrax, 30% Sleeper), Omari Hutchinson (4% Fantrax, 2% Sleeper), Eli Junior Kroupi (1% Fantrax, 1% Sleeper)
There wasn't really another standout starter under 50 percent, but each of these three players made their mark as substitutes last game and could find their way into the XI for their clubs moving forward.
Welbeck scored a brace against 10-man Chelsea, Hutchinson was dynamic scoring 17 points in just 17 minutes without a goal involvement and Kroupi scored during his eight-minute cameo for Bournemouth. All are worth monitoring going forward to see if they can find their way into the starting XI.
