Community Post: Premium goalkeepers
FPL Shake n Bake has been considering premium goalkeepers in FPL this season. The cheaper prices for premium goalkeepers in FPL this season will likely make them more attractive options.
For years, my standard tactic has been to spend no more than £4.5m on a starting keeper. There are different options you can mix it up with rotating £4.5 keepers to play the fixtures. Managers can also pick a £4.5m goalkeeper and then spend £4.0m on his backup. The goalkeeper is an area that FPL managers like to scrimp on.
Keepers aren’t sexy in terms of FPL. We want goals, we want assists, and therefore Golkeepers are the enemy of our FPL enjoyment.
This year, aided by a revamp in the pricing structure, more and more people are eyeing up a premium keeper. I’m all aboard that hype train.
Last year, I adopted the big at the back approach, earlier than quite a few. Some of my most memorable Gameweeks came from playing five at the back, and maximising my defensive returns. I hope to continue celebrating more clean sheets for my FPL side next year.
Security of starts
Opting for the likes of Ederson, Mendy or Allison means that you’re using one of your allotted slots for their side. This means the likes of Haaland, Reece James or Mo Salah could struggle to fit in. However, keepers are generally much more protected from rotation than their teammates.
Allison played 180 Premier League minutes more than any other Liverpool player last season. Meanwhile Ederson played 103 more than any other Man City player, whilst Edouard Mendy played over 400 minutes more than any other Chelsea asset. In fact only five Premier League clubs last season didn’t have their keeper as their most regularly played.
Of those five, Arsenal signed Aaron Ramsdale after the start of the season, and he only missed out by three minutes. Brentford’s David Raya spent a lengthy period on the injury table, and Southampton went with their own rotating keepers policy for large periods of the season.
FPL points
It’s not just security of minutes, Goalkeepers are a good source of points. Alisson scored 176 points last season. More than any other every striker in this season’s game other than Harry Kane.
Alisson meanwhile outscored the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Jamie Vardy and Ollie Watkins. All of whom cost considerably more than the Man City shot-stopper.
When considering the minimum you’d need to spend on one of these outfielders, the value available from the premium keepers really stands out. You can get top of the class options for just £1.5m more than the bare minimum options.
There prices put them on a par with the likes of Thiago Silva, Marcos Alonso, John Stones and Ivan Perisic. Perisic is the only one of these that seems a popular pick so far. In term of midfielders, comparable players include:
- Connor Gallagher
- Said Benrahma
- Rodri
- Emile Smith-Rowe
- Jack Harrison
- Gabriel Martinelli
- Emi Buendia
- Jorginho
- Daniel James
- Lucas Moura
- Rodrigo
- Joelinton
- Hwang Hee-Chan
- Hakim Ziyech
- Christian Pulisic
- Bruno Guimaeres
- Harry Wilson
- Fabio Vieira.
None of these really show the points potential as the top keepers, with the possible exception of Guimaeraes.
Upfront Bryan Mbeumo, Chris Wood, Patson Daka, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and Taiwo Awoniyi are available at £6m. Even if they had a good season for their expectations, I’d still back the premium keepers to outscore them.
When looking at the average last season score per price point per position, the £5.5m keepers average score was 157.8 more than those priced at the minimum option. To get this from a defender you need spend £6.5m. In midfield you to spend £8.0m and for forwards you’re looking at £6m over the baseline price point.
Overall
Based on this, I would argue that a premium keeper is necessary this season. I expect Allison to be the top scoring keeper again. He is likely to face more shots, and get more save points than Ederson, who I expect to keep a similar number of clean sheets. However, I think Ederson is going to be my keeper of choice.
Liverpool generally rotate less than Man City. This means the likes of Salah, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson and Luis Diaz are a bit more secure in their minutes than Haland, Foden, De Bruyne, Cancelo. Therefore I’m happy to spend the big money on my outfield Liverpool assets.
Still considering rotating goalkeepers? Check out our recent article.
