Over the course of the 2020/21 campaign, Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez (£5.4m) has become the go-to goalkeeper for legions of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers. However, with Liverpool and Manchester City as Villa’s next two Premier League opponents, and matches against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Everton to come in their run-in, is Martínez still the best goalkeeper pick from now until the end of the season?
We asked the Scout Network for their views on the best set-and-forget goalkeeper as well as the top rotating pair depending on your strategy for the run-in.
Set and forget
FPL BlackBox – Az
I’ve always been a fan of a set-and-forget keeper and for me, there are two choices that I’m considering on my Wildcard.
Edouard Mendy (£5.2m) seems the most solid choice. Before the West Bromwich Albion game, Chelsea had not conceded a big chance in their previous four Gameweeks. Chelsea also have a decent run of fixtures until the end of the season. He’s not the most “exciting” option, however, as, despite featuring in nearly every match since Gameweek 3, Mendy sits bottom for total saves from the regular goalkeepers with 46.
I’m also considering just sticking with Emiliano Martínez (£5.4m). He racks up the save points and even managed four FPL points this week despite conceding to Fulham. The games couldn’t be tougher, but if Villa can keep a couple of clean sheets between now and the end of the season, I’d expect some monster hauls from the Argentinian.
Az – FPL Blackbox
El Statto
If you base it solely on the remaining fixtures, I believe the best option would be to go for Alisson Becker (£5.9m). With no Blank Gameweeks left, he can be an ever-present. Couple this with Liverpool’s fixtures: aside from Gameweek 34 at Manchester Utd, all their remaining games are against mid-table or below sides, and Alisson looks a smart pick. Liverpool have picked up defensively, especially during their Gameweek 30 win at Arsenal, and will be pushing for the top four so will have something to play for during the run-in.
El Statto
FPL Family
Were it not for their blank fixture in Gameweek 33, Manchester City’s Ederson (£6.1m) would look like a great set-and-forget option. However, taking this into account, Wolves’ Rui Patricio (£5.3m) could be a decent option for at least the next five Gameweeks. During this time, all of their opponents are in the bottom half of the table. Sheffield United and Fulham are bottom and second bottom respectively for goals scored and all of their opponents bar Fulham, are in the bottom eight for attempts in the last six Gameweeks, making clean sheets look likely.
FPL Family
FF Titans
For me, Emiliano Martínez is still the best set-and-forget goalkeeper for the rest of the season, even after the Wildcard. He is currently the highest-scoring goalkeeper (157) as well as being the most highly owned.
FF Titans
His fixtures may be somewhat against him in the run-in, having to face Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City, but he does have one game still to be rescheduled against Everton, so I will stick with the Argentinian for the remainder of 2020/21.
FPL Froggies
We don’t see any reason why Emiliano Martínez couldn’t remain the standout option for a set and forget goal keeper strategy until the end of the season. The difficulty of fixtures might be a concern for clean sheet potential, but this will most probably be balanced by the number of saves, not to mention that he has one more game to play than most of the other goalkeeper options as his fixture against Everton still has to be rearranged.
FPL Froggies
Rotating pairs
FPL BlackBox – Az
If I was going to rotate my goalkeepers, I’d find it hard to look past the Leno-Martínez double up. While this will set you back over £10m, the two compliment each other perfectly. In the majority of games, however, you’d be playing Bernd Leno (£5.0m), who has no clean sheet in his last nine Premier League matches. I’d be fuming if I played him and he conceded, while Martínez racked up a monster haul on my bench.
Az – FPL BlackBox
Areola/Meslier could work, too. Alphonse Areola (£4.6m) faces a blank in Gameweek 33 when Illan Meslier (£4.7m) plays Manchester United, but tough Fulham fixtures in Gameweeks 34 and 37 are covered nicely by Meslier, who has Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton. This would allow you to save a bit of cash and get in two goalkeepers who should accumulate plenty of saves from now until the end of the season.
El Statto
If rotating, you’d be looking at two cheaper options. Two that rotate well are Leeds’ Illan Meslier (£4.7m) and Fulham’s Alphonse Areola (£4.6m). It’s not ideal for the next few Gameweeks, but it does cover the blank. FPL managers might have to hope for save points as Meslier plays Manchester United in Gameweek 33 but generally, this gives you one good fixture a week for the run-in, with two teams capable of clean sheets and goalkeepers who pick up save points.
El Statto
FPL Family
Even after the shock defeat to West Brom in Gameweek 30, Chelsea’s fixtures are really nice and as such Edouard Mendy continues to be a great pick. Mendy has three difficult fixtures between now and the end of the season, against West Ham United in Gameweek 33, Manchester City in Gameweek 35 and Leicester in Gameweek 37. Brighton’s Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) rotates with Mendy to cover two of those three fixtures, playing Sheffield United in Gameweek 33 and Wolves in Gameweek 35. Together they make a perfect playing pairing for the rest of the season.
FPL Family
FF Titans
A second goalkeeper must be cheap and, if possible, playing regularly.
FF Titans
West Brom’s Sam Johnstone (£4.5m) meets both criteria. The Baggies play Southampton and Leicester in Gameweeks 31 and 32 respectively at a time when Aston Villa have tougher fixtures, providing perfect cover for Emiliano Martínez. Johnstone has the most saves (120) in FPL and also recently provided an assist in Gameweek 30. Thus the Johnstone/Martinez double-up seems wise.
What’s happening in the Scout Network?
Last week FPLFamily’s Sam was joined on “Scout the Gameweek” by Greg, Adam and Nick from the FPL Experiment Podcast.
This week she will be joined by the Scout Academy’s FPL Focus to discuss Gameweek 30 and look ahead to Gameweek 31.
El Statto
Over the international break, El Statto introduced a new weekly feature looking at Wildcard squads for the Gameweek and released the final article in a series looking at targeting teams for clean sheet returns. This week also saw a guest writer using xG data to look at finishing as a skill.
FPL Family
Lee and Sam both appeared on the FPL Show, while Lee was a guest on the Official FPL podcast. This week, they will be releasing the next part of the Women in FPL series, in conjunction with the Premier League. In the next part, Sam will be joined by key female members of the FPL community: Pro Pundit and FF Community’s Holly, the Scout Network’s very own FPL Nymfria and KylieFPL from the Three Amigos podcast. Sam will also be guesting on this week’s Official FPL Podcast ahead of Gameweek 31.
What impact will Jonny’s injury have on Wolves clean sheet potential?
3 years, 11 days agoscared I have to sub gundog and play bamford and hope cancelo to play.