This article is part of our Fantrax Waiver Wire series.
Following each Premier League Gameweek, I'll take a look at sub-50 percent rostered players on Fantrax whose situations may have changed or improved, and assess whether or not they are worth a pickup in season-long leagues.
GOALKEEPERS
Dean Henderson (45-percent rostered): Henderson came out of Saturday's 2-0 win over Leicester City with a thigh injury, so this is availability dependent, but if he trains this week, he makes for a great stream against Bournemouth. The Cherries are averaging less than one goal per match, while Nottingham Forest have turned a decent run of results out of the World Cup break. If Henderson misses out, Wayne Hennessey, who is more widely available, would take his place.
Lukasz Fabianski (43 percent): Fabianski remains on the keeper streaming list after his five-point effort in a 1-0 loss to Wolves. West Ham aren't in good form, but Fabianski is still a capable goalkeeper in a favorable matchup against an Everton side who are in terrible form. Both teams need points in this match and the edge goes to the home side in West Ham.
DEFENDERS
Benoit Badiashile (22 percent): Badiashile drew his first Chelsea start in the win against Crystal Palace, helping the club keep a much-needed clean sheet while scoring 16.25 Fantrax points in standard leagues. The question will remain just how much playing time he'll get, but with Chelsea's recent struggles his debut was certainly a positive one. Badiashile lacks attacking upside as a center-back, but his floor from defensive stats could be enough with clean sheets.
Renan Lodi (six percent): Last week I noted full-back partner Serge Aurier and now it's Lodi, who is widely available. Lodi has started six-straight matches dating back to before the World Cup with high scores of 11.25, 9.75 and 7.75 in that span. He's yet to prove he's as good at getting forward as Aurier, but he provides some attacking upside with 35 crosses and five chances created in 11 appearances. As mentioned with Henderson, a matchup against Bournemouth is also one to target.
MIDFIELDERS
Cheick Doucoure (45 percent): Doucoure has sneakily put up no less than 8.5 fantasy points in his last four starts with a high of 13 against Spurs despite not scoring a goal and providing only one assist on the season. As a defensive midfielder, Doucoure lacks some attacking appeal, but anyone who can put up close to 10 floor points a week is one to target for midfield depth. The matchup isn't the best this weekend against Newcastle, but Doucoure has proven to be a bit matchup proof of late with the aforementioned 13 points in a 4-0 loss to Spurs and 12 points this past weekend in the 1-0 loss to Chelsea.
Hakim Ziyech (37 percent): Chelsea got a much needed win at the weekend off the back of an assist from Ziyech in a 22-point effort. Chelsea are in a bit of a crisis and the difficult thing with picking up Ziyech is that his playing time is not assured. There's also a tough upcoming matchup against fellow disappointments Liverpool, but if Ziyech starts he's worth a flier as a high-upside option in the midfield. We saw his ceiling during the World Cup, though similar to a lot of players at Chelsea, his game looks a bit different playing for club than country.
FORWARDS
Wout Weghorst (0 percent): Weghorst signed with Manchester United last week, joining on loan from Burnley for the remainder of the season after playing with Besiktas the last few months. The forward failed to impress in 20 appearances with Burnley, scoring just twice while providing three assists. Playing for a rejuvenated United side offers much better circumstances, however, with Weghorst providing a different approach to the forward role than what United had on the roster. Weghorst had also been in fairly good form this season at Besiktas with 12 goal involvements in 16 appearances.
Evan Ferguson (39 percent): Ferguson probably should've been on the list last week, even with some big name forwards joining the league, but after a third-straight double-digit score, he's undeniable as a pickup. The forward has started two-straight matches while getting his name onto the scoresheet in three straight, scoring twice and providing two assists during that stretch. If he can continue to lock down playing time ahead of Danny Welbeck (and Leandro Trossard), he's certainly worth picking up as Brighton are a team capable of taking out anyone in the league as shown by their weekend demolition of Liverpool.
