Allsvenskan Fantasy: Goalkeepers

This article will look in detail at the GKs in Allsvenskan Fantasy, sorted by their prices.

6.0 bracket

Oscar Linnér (AIK)

AIK has been the most solid defensive unit in the league for the last couple of years. Oscar Linnér is still quite young (only 22) but he’s already established himself as the first choice (since 2017) for the current champions. Last season he missed out on some games due to injuries but still managed to keep 12 clean sheets in 21 appearances, whilst also saving a penalty. Their defenders don’t let up that many shots on target though, so saves are never going to be that many (he ended last season at 33 in total).

Isak Pettersson (IFK Norrköping)

Pettersson was last seasons top scoring goalkeeper with 146 points accrued through 11 clean sheets, 87 saves and 1 penalty save in 30 appearances. Norrköping has lost their captain and stalwart in defence Andreas Johansson to Halmstad and it will be important for the new defensive signings to slot in quickly if Petterson is to have a great season again.

Peter Abrahamsson (BK Häcken)

BK Häcken is mostly thought of as an attacking team but Peter Abrahamsson has at times been brilliant between the sticks and ensured that they’ve been able to continue being as free-flowing. Last season he got 10 clean sheets, 77 saves and 1 penalty save from 28 games. Häcken looks strong and could very well challenge for a top-three spot in the league, last season they started out slow under new manager Andreas Alm (ex AIK-trainer) but finished off very strong, winning 11 out of their last 15 games. Abrahamsson was also top for “ball recoveries” last season with 299 so he could be a good option with the new bonus point system.

Johan Dahlin (Malmö FF)

Dahlin being the first choice goalkeeper for Malmö FF, he sort of has a similar set up as Oscar Linnér at AIK in that clean sheets will be his bread and butter (not saves) due to the quality of the defence. In 25 appearances last season he got 9 clean sheets, 48 saves and 1 penalty save. They really struggled to keep clean sheets first half of the season, only achieving that in 3 out the first 16 games. The remaining 14 games however, they managed to shut out their opponents 9 times.

5.5 bracket

William Eskelinen (GIF Sundsvall)

Eskelinen was hugely influential in a surprisingly good GIF Sundsvall last season, with his 8 clean sheets and 103 saves in 30 starts ensuring they finished 8th place. Received a subsequent price-rise and if now a bit expensive for a goalkeeper that is not expected to keep that many clean sheets. It remains to be seen if he can keep up the ball recoveries (266 last time around) which is favoured by the new bonus system, if he does then he might still be worth a shout.

Aly Keita (Östersunds FK)

Keita got 8 clean sheets and 69 saves, in 22 games. Östersund likes to attack and will (like Häcken) be reliant on their goalkeeper to rack up the saves yet again. First five games look a mixed bag with AIK (away), Falkenberg (home), Malmö (away), Elfsborg (home) and AFC Eskilstuna (away).

5.0 bracket

Oscar Jansson (Örebro SK)

Jansson, as well as Örebro, struggled a bit last season with 5 clean sheets and 78 saves in 30 appearances. Örebro doesn’t (in general) tend to let up too many goals (nor score that many) and Jansson will continue to be important if they are to keep their opponents out. He’s got a lot of saves “in him” but the squad around him raises questions over his appeal.

Lucas Hägg Johansson (Kalmar FF)

Second for ball recoveries last season with 284 in 30 appearances, he only managed 6 clean sheets but got a healthy 83 saves. Johansson strikes me as a bit of a Lukasz Fabianski and as Kalmar FF is now managed by Magnus Pehrsson (who divides opinion), that means he is likely to be needed frequently. If history is anything to go by, Johansson will continue to be berated with shots and should be a steady source for save-points and potentially bonus, but not clean sheets.

Kevin Stuhr-Ellegaard (IF Elfsborg)

Ellegaard got 7 clean sheets and 99 saves in 30 starts last time around. He also racked up 255 ball recoveries. Elfsborg has had some highs historically but it’s been a while now and last season they finished 12th out of 16. Not much has changed and manager Jimmy Thelin will have his work cut out for him if he is to get them back to the top.

Gianluca Curci (Hammarby FF)

Johan Wiland (5.0m) is out with a shoulder injury and not expected back until the summer, at the earliest. Gianluca Curci (5.0m) signed a half season loan-deal with an option for extension from AFC Eskilstuna, where he last season in Superettan (the league below Allsvenskan) kept 18 clean sheets in 27 starts. He’s started some of the cup games but faces stiff competition from Davor Blazevic (4.5m) who stepped in at the end of last season in the absence of Wiland. They each started 2 out of 4 games in the cup so it’s tough to call at the moment who gets to start the first game of the season.

Giannis Anestis (IFK Göteborg)

Anestis had a strange 2018 which led to him signing for Göteborg. Having played for AEK Athens since 2014 (but used sparingly, mostly as a backup), he came into a dispute with the club over signing a contract extension, as they could not agree on the financial side of it. Having spent months out of the squad for disciplinary reasons, the contract ran to its end in the summer of 2018. Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Shava snatched him up with a three-year contract which did not go well at all, he faced a lot of stick for his contribution to Hapoel losing 5-0 in the Champions League qualifying game against Dinamo Zagreb. Two months after signing for Hapoel, they made the decision to cut him free. Enter IFK Göteborg, having had another bleak season (by their standards) finishing 11th in the league, they’ve decided to give Anestis a new chance of proving himself. Will he sink or float?

Per Kristian ”PK” Bråtveit (Djurgårdens IF)

On the other side of the spectrum, Per Kristian (also known simply as “PK”) Bråtveit had quite a good season for Eliteserien side FK Haugesund, 8 clean sheets and only 28 goals conceded in 24 games. The season before that he managed 12 clean sheets, 34 goals conceded in 28 appearances. I’m certain Fantasy Eliteserien players can inform us more about his fantasy appeal in seasons past, as for this year, he’s taking over the gloves from Djurgården legend Andreas Isaksson who retired at the end of last season. Only four teams in the league bettered Djurgårdens record of 31 goals conceded in 30 games, however they do tend to concede just a solitary goal (still ruining the clean sheet), managing that “feat” 14 times last season along with their 9 clean sheets.

John Alvbåge (IK Sirius)

The 36-year old John Alvbåge has a history in Allsvenskan, playing for Örebro and Göteborg. After a couple of years abroad he’s now returned, and Sirius have secured his services for the season. A defensive upgrade was needed, as Sirius conceded 61 goals in 30 games last year, only two teams were worse in that regard and that was Brommapojkarna and Trelleborg who both got relegated. Alvbåge is a solid keeper who has had a couple of good seasons in the past, the worry would be that his best days might be behind him and/or Sirius defence as a whole just isn’t good enough.

4.5 bracket

Mihail Ivanov (AFC Eskilstuna)

The most likely successor to Gianluca Curci at AFC Eskilstuna, Ivanov will have his work cut out for him. Eskilstuna was very solid last year in Superettan (only conceding 16 goals in 30 games) but it remains to be seen if they can keep it up in Allsvenskan, after also losing Curci to Hammarby. They’ve had a great cup run though, knocking out both Norrköping and AIK on their way to the final, which is to be played against Häcken later in May.

Hampus Nilsson (Falkenberg FF)

Last season in Superettan Hampus Nilsson managed 9 clean sheets in 28 appearances. The ex-Djurgården player played an important role in their promotion and seeing as Falkenberg most likely will be fighting for survival, he will regularly be called into action. Whether or not he can cope with it remains to be seen.

Pär Hansson (Helsingborgs IF)

Hansson has a long history with Helsingborg, signing for them in 2009 and bar a not so successful stint overseas between 2015-2017, he’s been their first-choice keeper throughout. Getting 9 clean sheets in 24 appearances he was a driving force in them winning Superettan and earning their promotion. Helsingborg is tipped to make the transition quite smoothly and establish themselves at Allsvenskan-level again and Pär Hansson could be an interesting budget-pick.

Conclusion

A thorough start to our positional Allsvenskan articles!

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