Gameweek 7 Waiver Wire: Premier League Draft Pickups
Dominic Solanke is the strongest new Gameweek 7 forward claim after turning three straight starts into his first 90-minute appearance and a goal. Maxim De Cuyper is the immediate defender target if he remains free, while Sven Botman offers the steadier three-week schedule. Alex Iwobi, Granit Xhaka and Bernd Leno are lower-cost ways to solve specific lineup slots.
This is advice for Premier League draft leagues, where every player has one owner. A roster rate below 50 per cent means a player is available in many completed private Draft Fantasy leagues, not necessarily yours. Check the live market in your Draft Fantasy Premier League league before ordering claims.
The board uses Draft Fantasy regular scoring, which matches official FPL scoring. Custom-scoring leagues calculate points from commissioner-defined values, so extra rewards for chances created, defensive work or other actions can change the order.
The Gameweek 7 claim board
| Priority | Player | Pos | Rostered | Current case | GW7–9 | FAAB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Dominic SolankeTOT | Forward | 38.0% | 90 GW6 min · 0.73 xGI |
| 8–13% |
| 2 |  Maxim De CuyperBHA | Defender | 41.7% | 6 starts · 53 pts |
| 7–11% |
| 3 |  Sven BotmanNEW | Defender | 22.5% | 540 min · 69 DC |
| 4–7% |
| 4 |  Alex IwobiFUL | Midfielder | 9.3% | 6 starts · 1.80 xGI |
| 3–6% |
| 5 |  Granit XhakaSUN | Midfielder | 25.9% | 540 min · 62 DC |
| 2–5% |
| 6 | Bernd LenoFUL | Goalkeeper | 20.9% | 540 min · 20 pts |
| 1–3% |
Official FPL stats and Draft Fantasy completed-private-league roster rates, 13 October 2026; difficulty runs from 1 (easy) to 5 (hard).
The percentages are editorial ranges from your remaining FAAB, not fixed player prices. Pay near the top only when the player enters your usual starting lineup. In rolling or weekly-reset leagues, keep the same positional logic but price the move in waiver priority instead of budget.
Open Draft Fantasy and set your Gameweek 7 waiver queue before your league processes claims.
Solanke has the role change worth buying
Solanke opened the season with three substitute appearances, then started Gamesweeks 4, 5 and 6 for 62, 65 and 90 minutes. The latest step matters more than the seven points: he scored from 0.67 expected goals, added 0.06 expected assists and completed the match.
Across 260 minutes he now has 1.30 expected goal involvements. That is not enough evidence to call the role permanent, but it is enough to rank a 38.0 per cent-rostered forward first before Spurs host Coventry in a difficulty-one fixture. Crystal Palace at home carries the same rating in Gameweek 9, so the claim is not dependent on one matchup.
Use the top of the 8–13 per cent range when Solanke replaces a forward with no secure starting role. Stay lower when he would be your third forward and the squad cannot absorb another team-selection check.
De Cuyper is the best immediate defender, not a three-week fixture buy
De Cuyper has started all six matches and produced 53 regular-scoring points in 490 minutes. His Gameweek 6 goal, clean sheet and three bonus points delivered 15 points, while his season line now includes 1.80 expected goals and 0.67 expected assists.
This is no longer the one-match sample from the Gameweek 2 waiver guide. His roster rate has risen from 22.6 per cent on 25 August to 41.7 per cent on 13 October as the role held.
The bid still needs a limit. Brighton's home match against Crystal Palace is difficulty one, but Liverpool away is three and Manchester City away is five. De Cuyper belongs above Botman when the priority is Gameweek 7 upside; Botman is the better fit when you need a defender for all three rounds.
Botman is a role-and-schedule claim, not a goal chase
Botman has played every minute and leads this board with 69 defensive contributions. Newcastle's next three fixtures are all rated difficulty two, giving him the most even schedule of the six recommendations.
His Gameweek 6 goal produced eight points, but it came from only 0.04 expected goals. Do not make the bid because another goal is owed. Make it because six complete matches and a 22.5 per cent roster rate create an obtainable defender who can stay in the lineup beyond one week.
Lewis Hall remains the higher-rostered Newcastle hold after last week's recommendation. A zero-point Gameweek 6 does not erase 539 minutes or the same favourable run, so do not drop Hall merely to chase Botman's latest score.
Iwobi and Xhaka are quiet-score midfield claims
Iwobi has started all six matches, played 494 minutes and generated 1.80 expected goal involvements. His four Gameweek 6 points will not create the same demand as a goal, but Fulham now receive difficulty-one fixtures against Hull and Coventry. At 9.3 per cent rostered, he is the best widely available midfield blend of role and immediate schedule.
Oscar Bobb is the higher-variance Fulham fallback. He has also started six times and has 2.21 expected goal involvements, but his 418 minutes include a substitution in every match. Prefer Iwobi for playing-time floor and Bobb when the fifth midfield slot can absorb earlier exits.
Xhaka supplies a different route. He has completed all 540 minutes, recorded 62 defensive contributions and produced 1.52 expected goal involvements. Bournemouth away, Leeds at home and Coventry away are rated two, two and one. A two-point Gameweek 6 is a reason his bid can stay modest, not a reason to ignore the stable role.
Leno is a schedule stream, not a reaction to last week
Leno conceded twice and scored two points in Gameweek 6. The case for adding him is entirely forward-looking: he has played every minute, is rostered in only 20.9 per cent of completed private leagues and faces difficulty-one Hull and Coventry fixtures next.
Use a 1–3 per cent bid only when goalkeeper is a real lineup weakness or your league rewards clean sheets heavily. Do not drop a reliable long-term goalkeeper merely to collect two attractive ratings. The free fixture-difficulty tool lets you compare Leno with the goalkeepers actually available in your league.
Last week's role threshold is provisional; the points target is behind
The Gameweek 6 waiver guide predicted that five of its six recommendations would reach 60 minutes and that Groß, Hall and Kostoulas would combine for at least 12 regular-scoring points.
The provisional feed currently has Groß, Hall, Barnes, Emersonn and Branthwaite above 60 minutes, while Kostoulas stopped at 59. That meets the five-player role threshold exactly. Groß, Hall and Kostoulas combined for seven points, below the 12-point target.
All ten Gameweek 6 fixtures are marked finished provisional, but the official event is not finished or data checked. Those totals can still change, so this article does not declare the prediction passed or failed early. If the numbers hold through finalisation, the points condition will be falsified and the next ranking should continue to weight repeatable role above short-fixture optimism.
Build a queue for the position you need
- Lead with the scarce role. Solanke is the forward claim; De Cuyper is the one-week defender ceiling.
- Choose a horizon. Botman, Iwobi and Xhaka have schedules that remain usable after Gameweek 7.
- Attach a fallback. Bobb can follow Iwobi; Leno is a low-cost goalkeeper stream rather than an all-purpose claim.
- Name the outgoing player. Draft Fantasy waiver requests are one-for-one moves, so every successful claim must leave a valid squad.
- Check the league rules and clock. The fantasy football waiver rules guide explains how FAAB, rolling priority, weekly reset and free agents change the timing and cost.
- Recheck availability. The verified Gameweek 7 deadline is 10:00 UTC on Saturday 17 October; current player statuses are not deadline-day guarantees.
Official competition data marked Gameweek 6 current, with all ten fixtures complete on the pitch but still provisional, and Gameweek 7 next when this snapshot was taken on 13 October. Player points, minutes, starts, expected returns and defensive contributions came from official FPL data and the Gameweek 6 live feed. Roster rates came from Draft Fantasy's current epl26 data, and every fixture rating was joined to the current competition fixture by ID.
Ready to turn the board into a real decision? Start or manage a Draft Fantasy Premier League league, invite your managers and choose the waiver system that fits your competition.