There is no such thing as overrating the last line of defense on the soccer pitch and when it comes to the English Premier League, there is no shortage of elite talent tending to the goals. Wins, saves and clean sheets all factor in to the fantasy production of goalkeepers (depending on your league) and when it comes to the total packages, the following group is absolutely stacked. With that in mind, we decided to look back and recap the four best fantasy goalies from the Premier League.
Fraser Forster – Southampton
No Premier League team has allowed fewer goals this season than the 21 Southampton has permitted. Chelsea (25), Manchester United (27) and Manchester City (28) are the only teams even in the twenties in terms of goals allowed. While the team in front of him has done an excellent job, it is Fraser Foster that has held his own and registered absolutely dominant fantasy numbers. Forster leads the Premier League in clean sheets with 13 and while his 60 saves aren’t as many as some of the other keepers on this list, the fact that he has conceded just 21 goals is incredible. Forster also ranks in the top five among fantasy goalies with 15 wins and deserves to be at or near the top of this list.
Lukasz Fabianski – Swansea
Fabianski ranks third in the Premier League behind only QPR’s Robert Green and West Ham United’s Adrian in terms of saves with 98 on the year but of that group of three, he has as many clean sheets as Green and Adrian combined with 11. Fabianski has been an absolute stud for Swansea all year and while his 12 wins don’t match up with the other names on this list, he has more saves and clean sheets than the two keepers listed below him.
Seeing someone from Swansea on this list might be a tad surprising but they’ve played well this year and are currently eighth in the EPL table at this moment. They’d be a lot lower if it weren’t for Fabianski’s performance. That’s why he’s among the elite fantasy Premier League goalies.
David De Gea – Manchester United
De Gea has been a huge part of Manchester United’s turnaround this season as the Red Devils are currently fourth in the table, en route to securing a Champions League spot if they keep it up. One of the reasons has been the steady play of De Gea, whose 17 wins are most in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have plenty of firepower up front but the fact that they have so many weapons has taken some of the attention away from just how good De Gea has been as he leads the league in wins and has faced the third-most shots among goalkeepers that have registered 10 or more clean sheets this season. At one point, he was swirling in the transfer rumor winds but now he appears to be entrenched as part of the team’s future.
Joe Hart – Manchester City
Hart doesn’t have as many saves as De Gea but he has as many clean sheets as his United counterpart with 10 and has just one fewer win with 16 for the season. While his numbers have undoubtedly benefited from his situation at Manchester City, Hart has been very good both in the Premier League and in the Champions League this season. While he doesn’t have as many saves as Forster or De Gea, he deserves credit for both his win and clean sheet totals as one of the best fantasy keepers in the league this season.
Some of the other notable fantasy contributors include Green, Adrian and Thibault Courtois and while your fantasy team has probably still been pretty good with those keepers manning your back end, Hart’s rounds out our list because his numbers give him the slight edge as one of the Premier League’s best.
