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Goalkeepers usually prove to be a tricky prospect in a Fantasy Premier League team. Their total points seldom compare to that of midfielders or strikers and keepers are usually considered a buy and forget transfer.
Some fantasy football players even stick to the same goalkeeper for the whole season. Along with points from clean sheets, the saves made per game are their primary point accumulators.
Changes made to the bonus points system in recent seasons has allowed keepers to earn these points regularly, mostly to the benefit of mid-priced keepers or the ones playing in teams that allow more shots on goal.
What this means is that there are two types of high scoring goalies. The first type is ones that play for the big sides and get a lot of clean sheets but comparatively fewer bonus points. The second is the ones playing in mid-table sides getting a decent amount of clean sheets but higher saves to game ratio and hence more bonus points.
There are also two ways fantasy managers generally use goalkeepers. Players can buy a big-name goalie and keep a low priced one as a backup. Alternatively, they can get two mid-priced keepers and rotate between them depending on the fixtures.
Whatever style you prefer, here are the 7 best keepers to choose from going into the new season.
David de Gea (£6 million) - Manchester United
Getting the most obvious one out of the way at the start. The Man United shot-stopper is the most selected goalkeeper in the game at the moment (30%) and was also the highest point scorer of last season (172).
Man United had a tight defense in the last campaign shipping only one goal more than Man City. Much of that was down to the brilliance of De Gea who is considered one of the best in the world. The Spaniard kept a career-best 18 clean sheets last term which is nearly half the number of Premier League fixtures.
Known for making spectacular saves, De Gea managed 115 of those in the last term and accumulated an additional 10 bonus points.
Jose Mourinho's teams are known for their defensive solidity and it is expected that the Spaniard will keep adding to his clean sheets and goal saving statistics this term. Priced at £6 million and averse to any rotation, De Gea is the priciest but the most reliable of goalkeeping options in the Fantasy Premier League.
Ederson (£5.5 million) - Manchester City
Manchester City's goalkeeping issues were swiftly put to rest by the Brazilian goalkeeper who was brought in from Benfica last summer. He impressed throughout last season, with a string of great performances behind the best defense in the Premier League, letting in only 27 goals all season.
Keeping a total of 16 clean sheets, the City keeper, however, came second behind De Gea in points scored (158). This was perhaps because second-choice Bravo played two matches, getting 11 points, or the fact that Ederson had a pretty low number of shots saved; a paltry 58.
This is the result of City's possession-based gameplay which does not allow opposing teams many chances on goal. The Brazilian still had the same number of bonus points as De Gea though (10).
Priced less than his United counterpart, Ederson is a great option for players looking to grab clean sheet points. Man City is expected to play well again this season after blowing away all competition last campaign.
Being an assured starter at the back, Ederson will be looking to provide another solid total.
Leno (£5 million) - Arsenal
Arsenal's new acquisition from Germany is an exciting prospect for fantasy managers coming as a mid-priced goalkeeper to a big club. With the arrival of a new manager, many are curious as to how the Gunners will play this season.
With a positive pre-season under their belt, Arsenal is attracting interest at the opposite end in attack while questions still remain about their shaky defense which let in a total of 51 goals last season.
Arsenal has a run of comparatively easy fixtures beyond the first two GWs and it would be expected of the team to have a good return on points during that run.
While some have doubts over the first choice place for the keeper's spot with veteran Petr Cech also priced at £5 million, it has been Leno who has started most of pre-season in goal and is strongly expected to be number one going into the new season.
If the manager, Unai Emery can shore up the defense then the German stopper is a deal too good to refuse. Perhaps consider keeping him on the bench for the first two game weeks though.
Alisson (£5.5 million) - Liverpool
There must not be a footballing pundit in the world who hasn't been vocal on Liverpool's goalkeeping problems over the last several years. The club's fans are certainly hoping that those days are behind them as they've spent big to bring in Alisson from AS Roma this year.
Having the fourth best defense last season, Liverpool conceded a total of 38 goals but kept an impressive 17 clean sheets. While these stats were distributed between Mignolet and Karius (both £5 million) last season, Allison is expected to be a steady presence in goal this season.
Liverpool looks good going into the new season and Klopp would have no doubt worked on a defense that attracted plenty of criticism last year. Alisson could be crucial in this regard and has already impressed at Roma through the years and for his national side, Brazil.
If kept from rotation, Alisson could very well better the total of De Gea this season.
Mathew Ryan (£4.5 million) - Brighton
Moving into the low priced range of keepers, Mathew Ryan from Brighton is a decent option as a backup or an alternate keeper.
One of the reasons Brighton stayed up last campaign was because of their sturdy defense which let in only 3 more goals than Arsenal with a total of 54 conceded. Keeping 10 clean sheets and playing every game, Ryan finished with an impressive total of 146 points. He grabbed 13 bonus points while making 124 saves and also saving a couple of penalties.
Brighton has a tricky set of opening fixtures with a decent run after game week 8. Ryan can be rotated through the opening fixtures and might give a decent return of clean sheets in the later weeks.
He also played every game in goal last season, so looks to be an assured choice at the back who will give a steady return in points.
Rui Patricio (£4.5 million) - Wolves
How often do you see a goalkeeper of such quality playing for a promoted side? The Portuguese first choice keeper made his switch from Sporting on the back of problems at that club. Wolves got one of the steals of the season and fantasy managers can get a great budget option.
Wolves had the joint best defense in the Championship last term and are being predicted to perform well in their return season to the EPL. Patricio will be critical to keeping the goals out and brings with him a lot of experience from the very top level.
A good shot stopper and possessing a talent for keeping out spot kicks, Patricio will be expected to accumulate a lot of saves as well as bonus points this term.
Wolves' fixtures are well spread with no clear favorable run until midseason so the Portuguese would be best utilized as a rotational keeper along with another budget option.
Ben Foster (£4.5 million) - Watford
Managers must be wary of Watford's backline as they had the third worst defense last season. However, there is every reason to believe that may not be the case this time around.
Ben Foster has always managed to give a fair return of points even when his team is not performing at their best. This was evident from last season when West Brom dropped out of the Premier League, but Foster still managed 123 points, making a total of 99 saves and gaining 11 bonus points.
The English keeper is also a commanding presence at the back, good at collecting aerial balls and defending from set pieces.
Along with this, Watford's defense became significantly more resolute once Javi Garcia was appointed as manager in January. There is a good reason to believe that the Hornet's defensive stats could be better this term and the addition of Foster will only help in that matter.
Watford's fixture list is again well laid out and Ben Foster can be used as a rotating goalkeeper for the best possible return on points.
Honorary mention: Jordan Pickford (£5 million) - Everton
The second most selected (22%) goalkeeper and England's World Cup star has to be given a mention here. Giving a return of 145 points last term, Pickford was not given a spot on the list because of the dodgy Everton defense in preseason and manager Marco Silva's questionable defensive record.
Even with a favorable set of opening fixtures, it would be better to look elsewhere as Everton's backline looks thin and less than settled going into the new season (they had a pretty bad defensive record last term as well).
For his price (and lower) there seem to be better alternatives at the moment.
