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Welcome to the 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League season, RotoBallers! We began our FPL coverage two years ago and are going big for the upcoming campaign. We will have position previews, team previews, and reactions to the most significant transfers in the preseason. Then, during the year, we will bring you our usual Staff Roundtable, weekly rankings, and a new monthly article: the Watchlist.
The game launched on July 5 and all the prices are revealed. Today, we begin our position previews with goalkeepers as we analyze the men who can break our hearts with a single slip or save our weekends with a spectacular stop.
The first game of the 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League season is August 11 at 3:00 PM ET. Also, look out for the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every English Premier League and UEFA Champions League slate from a DFS and betting perspective.
FPL Position Previews: Goalkeepers
Depending on your philosophy, the goalkeeper spots can be the most straightforward or trickiest position in Fantasy Premier League. Going with the premium assets will cost you at the outfield position, but trying to find those discounts could leave you open to a clean sheet wipeout. Don't forget to check out the other position and team previews that started on July 10.
Last Year's Goalkeeper Stats
- Most FPL points: David Raya (Brentford), 166 points
- Most saves: David Raya, 154 saves
- Most clean sheets: David De Gea (Manchester United), 17 clean sheets
- Most bonus points: David Raya, 20 bonus points
Over the seasons, what is your general strategy regarding goalkeepers in FPL?
- Euan Leith: It's always gone best for me when I've had a £4.5 million goalkeeper and a £4 million backup. The game tempts us to go with premium assets by eliminating the £6 million price bracket, but it still sounds too much. Especially when you could spend that extra £1 million upgrading a £4 million bench-sitting defender to a £5 million potential stud in your back line.
- Jamie Steed: In previous seasons, I've tended to pay down at the position as the difference in points between the top keepers and cheaper ones hasn't been great. But now, there's generally only £1m between the top goalies and starters for the lesser teams, so paying up for one and then bargain hunting for the second is my preferred route.
What was the most pleasant FPL price reveal at the position?
- Euan Leith: Generally, it was good to see them stick with £5.5 million as the maximum price for the position. For one club specifically, I'm intrigued by the Brighton shot-stoppers. Jason Steele was a second-half hero for many squads as his 4.3 points per start was fourth best among goalkeepers with at least 15 starts. However, the Seagulls have brought in 20-year-old Bart Verbruggen for added competition, and he will also start as a £4.5 million goalie.
- Jamie Steed: Aaron Ramsdale being £5.0m and not in the £5.5m range was a nice surprise. He was the fifth-highest-scoring goalkeeper last year, despite going on a seven-game stretch without a clean sheet towards the end of the season when William Saliba was injured.
Aaron Ramsdale in the most valuable goalkeeper in the world according to CIES Football Observatory 💰🏴 pic.twitter.com/e5z3uAJSV1
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 9, 2023
What was the biggest disappointment?
- Euan Leith: Jose Sa coming in at £5 million eliminates him from the game. With Aaron Ramsdale, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Emiliano Martinez, all at the same price, I would much rather have those three in net than Sa with that Wolves defense in front of him.
- Jamie Steed: Ederson still being £5.5m after ranking tenth in total points. Yes, he didn't play in three games, but City's keeper generally has fewer saves to make, so I need the clean sheets to tally the points, and at that price, I'd rather avoid it.
- Euan Leith: The correct answer is none of the three goalies priced at £5.5 million will be in my squad, but the most likely is Nick Pope. Having Alisson as my goalkeeper takes up a vital Liverpool slot, and I'm still scarred from Ederson's inexplicable form last season. Newcastle doesn't have a great run of fixtures to begin the campaign, so I'm not worried about tripling up on the Magpies. That's why Pope would be my pick.
- Jamie Steed: Alisson is my favorite top-priced goalie. Without Champions League football, only an injury or suspension will prevent him from playing 38 league games. I expect Liverpool to be better than last season when Alisson still finished second in total points.
Is there anyone in the middle tier of goalies that catches your eye?
- Euan Leith: Aaron Ramsdale at £5 million is tempting, but (like Alisson) he takes up one of three crucial Arsenal slots. Therefore, I will go with whoever is between the sticks at Brentford. David Raya (£5 million) is still on the team, but last season's top-scoring FPL goalkeeper could be on the way out. As it stands, Mark Flekken (£4.5 million) from the Bundesliga is set to take over and will be a great value in a system that gives its goalies plenty of ways to score FPL points.
- Jamie Steed: Although I like Ramsdale at his price, there are more Arsenal players I'd prefer, so I'd have to say Kepa Arrizabalaga. He's looking like Chelsea's number one and was eighth in points per match (4.1) last season, with four of the 'keepers above him not playing half of their team's games. He could easily wind up a top-5 goalkeeper this season.
If we are bargain hunting, who is the top pick?
- Euan Leith: The West Ham duo (Alphonse Areola and Lukasz Fabianski) are similar to the Brighton duo I mentioned earlier, but it would cost us £0.5 less to double up on them. Ideally, Hammers manager David Moyes would give the job to Areola in the preseason, and then we could save even more money.
- Jamie Steed: I like Burnley's Arijanet Muric at £4.5m. The newly promoted team kept 21 clean sheets in 46 games in the Championship last season, and with former center-back Vincent Kompany in charge and Turf Moor a tricky place to go, he could find his way into the top 10 for points scored this season.
Which goalkeeper will have the best start to the Fantasy Premier League season over the first six fixtures?
- Euan Leith: Kepa Arrizabalaga has the chance to kick start his 2023/23 FPL campaign with four home games in the first six. Among those four fixtures at Stamford Bridge, the 28-year-old Spanish keeper will face Liverpool, Luton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa. Luton just came up from the Championship, and Nottingham Forest scored the fewest road goals (11) in the English Premier League last year. And the Blues had the sixth-best defense at home in 2022/23.
Fixture Difficulty Rating from fantasy.premierleague.com
- Jamie Steed: I stated in the Arsenal team preview that their first six fixtures are a good reason to go with a trio from them, so Ramsdale makes sense. But if you go with only outfield players from the Gunners, I like Crystal Palace's fixtures making Vicente Guaita a solid option (assuming he starts the season as their number one). Other than Arsenal at home, they have a decent set of games to start the season, and Roy Hodgson's teams have generally been pragmatic, so two or three clean sheets to begin the campaign is doable.
Which goalkeeper do you predict to struggle to keep the ball out of the net over the first six fixtures of the FPL season?
- Euan Leith: Three of Newcastle's four opening games are against three of the four-highest scoring teams from last season. Man City, Liverpool, and Brighton will be a massive test for the black and white's back line. Nick Pope is £5.5 million, and he will have to play some of his best football to be worth that sort of cash to begin the year.
Fixture Difficulty Rating from fantasy.premierleague.com
- Jamie Steed: Guglielmo Vicario is set to replace Hugo Lloris as Tottenham's shot-stopper, and with four away games in their first six fixtures, plus new head coach Ange Postecoglou's desire to play attacking football, it could be a baptism of fire for the new signing.
As of today, who's your favorite FPL goalkeeper to target?
- Euan Leith: Until I see otherwise, I'm rolling with the West Ham duo. The Hammers don't have many outfield options, so burning two of their three slots at the goalkeeper slot won't hurt too much. Plus, it ensures I've got a starting goalkeeper every weekend and one less decision to make as every gameweek deadline draws closer.
- Jamie Steed: With a lack of many attacking options I want from Chelsea, Arrizabalaga will likely be my main goalkeeper to kick things off.
Finally, what's your bold prediction for goalkeepers during the 2023/24 FPL season?
- Euan Leith: The highest-scoring goalkeeper for the 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League season is... currently not in the Premier League. If Andre Onana's proposed transfer to Manchester United is finalized, the (current) Inter Milan player will take the game by storm. David De Gea had the most clean sheets (17) in the league last season, and Onana can produce the same number of saves and play the ball out with his feet.
- Jamie Steed: Dean Henderson joins Nottingham Forest on a permanent deal and ends the season as a top-7 scoring goalkeeper. With Manchester United set to sign André Onana as David de Gea's replacement, Henderson has made it clear he doesn't want to be a backup, and he certainly had success at Forest on loan before getting injured. They want him back, he wants to move, and I certainly see it happening.
🧤 Save percentage last season:
🇨🇲 André Onana 𝟳𝟮.𝟵%
🇧🇷 Alisson Becker 71.52%
🏴 Aaron Ramsdale 68.84%
🇫🇷 Hugo Lloris 66.95%
🇸🇳 Edouard Mendy 64.10% pic.twitter.com/vnGDxHsnov— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) July 11, 2023
