Here’s Danor with an his article on selecting a fantasy premier league goalkeeper
Fantasy Premier League 2020-21: Selecting a goalkeeper
Fantasy Premier League managers are in the closed season, a time for dissecting player statistics and searching for a bargain squad member to propel their sides to a fantasy football win. It is also a time for optimism that this season will be the one that delivers an FPL championship. The Premier League’s September return gives FPL managers just a few weeks to get their initial draft choices ready. In the meantime we will have to satisfy ourselves with events like horse racing live streaming.
One of the most important selections an FPL manager will make to start the season is a goalkeeper. In years past, goalkeeper was considered a position that managers could make last of all their selections. However, in recent years, the importance of a top shot-stopper has increased.
Selecting a goalkeeper
One of the most interest aspects of FPL and goalkeepers is that the Premier League’s top teams do not often have the best fantasy shot-stoppers. It sounds strange that the top teams such as Liverpool or Manchester United don’t have the top FPL goalkeepers. However, goalkeepers like Alisson Becker and David De Gea do not face as many shots as shot-stoppers from mid-table teams. Alisson finished the 2019-20 FPL season outside the top nine goalkeepers in terms of points.
Managers can find value for money when selecting goalkeepers from midtable Premier League teams. Burnley’s Nick Pope is a perfect example of a value for money goalkeeper that played for a mid-table Premier League side. Pope tallied 170 points in FPL which topped the goalkeeper points standings. Burnley’s solid defence made it possible for Pope to have a strong season. Pope still made 120 saves, the fourth most in the league. Newcastle United’s Martin Dubravka made the league’s most saves last season with 140.
So, what made Pope value for money? For one, his starting FPL price was £4.5 million and it topped out at £5.2m at the end of the campaign. Making him an even better value was his final points total was near the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Heung-min Son, and Marcus Rashford. All three of those outfield players cost significantly more than Pope.
Predictability is key
Burnley are not a flashy team. If you watch many of their games, you will realise just how predictable they are throughout the campaign. The predictability made Pope a great selection last term and an ideal draft pick for your FPL team in 2020-21.
Busy goalkeepers are the better choice when making your FPL shot-stopper selection. Goalkeepers that are busy are often good value for money because they play for teams outside the top six. Busier shot-stoppers make far more saves than those players at top clubs. Although the likes of Ederson and Alisson will get their fair share of clean sheets, they don’t pick up points from making saves.
The goalkeeper position may be the most unglamorous position in FPL but it can be one of the most important to earn managers points. Just like in the Premier League, a well scouted goalkeeper can make or break an FPL teams.
