In this article, we will look at the best goalkeepers to pick for your Fantasy Premier League team in the Gameweek 34 of the 2023/24 season.
Let’s dive in and look at our watchlist. If you are aiming to use a wildcard in GW 34 here are the goalkeepers to pick from, with our comments and ratings of each.
Read more about GW34 in our guide: FPL Gameweek 34: Tips, Captain, Transfer Targets & Team Selection
Best goalkeepers for FPL 2023/24 Gameweek 34: Our watchlist
We will look at goalkeepers from every price point: budget enablers, midpriced picks, and premium options.
Budget enablers for Gameweek 34 (4m – 4.5m price range)
Notes:
- Kelleher (3.8m, Liverpool) – his time in our FPL teams is likely nearing to end as Alisson will be back in the second half of April.
Petrovič (4.6m, Chelsea) – 4/10
Verdict: Hold
- Good option for managers without any chips left, as Chelsea have the most fixtures from all teams until the end of the season
- Chelsea will have 2 double gameweeks later in the season (GW35 + GW37) and their fixture run is also favorable
- Sanchez is still ruled out
- But Chelsea is struggling defensively this season, just 5 clean sheets – a clean sheet every 5-6 game, so do not have unrealistic expectations.
Henderson (4.4m, Crystal Palace) – 4/10
Verdict: Buy on free hit, a budget enabler for managers dead-ending their team into GW34 or free hitting in GW34
- Expected points output over 38 games: 152 points (source) – but calculated only from 2 seasons of data
- Crystal Palace’s average clean sheets over the last 5 seasons: 10.2 (source)
- Average saves per match in the last 2 seasons: 3.08 (source)
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Pickford (4.7m, Everton) – 8/10
Verdict: Buy. One of our go-to goalkeepers for the rest of the season + double gameweek 34. Our top choice solely for GW34.
- Expected points output over 38 games: 128 points (source)
- Everton’s average clean sheets over the last 5 seasons: 10.4 (source)
- Average saves per match in the last 3 seasons: 3.22 (source)
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Neto (4.7m, Bournemouth) – 5.5/10
Verdict: Hold him for good fixtures and double gameweek 34
- Hold him for double gameweek 34
- However, you cannot have unrealistic expectations about clean sheets – it is Bournemouth, they have just 7 clean sheets this season – so you can expect a clean sheet in 1 in 5 games.
- But, when they do keep a clean sheet, he is likely to get some extra points for saves and bonuses – this is when you get his points – so you have to be patient
- He returned 10, 9, 8, 7, 9, 6, 7 points when Bournemouth kept a clean sheet this season
Mid-priced FPL goalkeepers for Gameweek 34 (5m price range)
Raya (5.1m, Arsenal) – 7.5/10
Verdict: Hold – good option, however, he blocks you from triple Arsenal consisting of Saka + Havertz/Odegaard + Saliba/Gabriel/White
- Arsenal has the lowest xG conceded this season
- Very affordable goalkeeper playing for elite defense
- Arsenal defense is very solid, so he do not have many opportunities to get points for saves
- but mix of fixtures on the horizon
- top for points per match among goalkeepers (4.2 ppm)
- a cheap route into Arsenal’s defence
Onana (5m, Manchester United) – 7/10
Verdict: Buy – alongside Pickford he is one of our go-to options for a goalkeeper until the end of the season – could be an option for managers without any chip left, as he has good fixture in GW34 (Sheffield) and double gameweek in GW37. But you have rely more on points from saves and bonuses rather than clean sheets.
- Manchester United’s average clean sheets over the last 5 seasons: 11.6 (source)
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Premium FPL goalkeepers for Gameweek 34 (5.5m price bracket)
Alisson (5.8m, Liverpool) – 1/10
Verdict: Monitor his injury situation, he could be back for DGW34
- Great long-term premium pick – set and forget goalkeeper
- Expected points output over 38 games: 168 points (source)
- Liverpool’s average clean sheets over the last 5 seasons: 16.6 (source)
- Average saves per match in the last 3 seasons: 2.51 (source)
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Our preferred goalkeeper for Gameweek 34 of 2023/24 season
Our advice:
- Currently, our preferred option for GW34 goalkeeper is Pickford
Goalkeepers to consider after Gameweek 34
Dubravka (4.2m, Newcastle) – 2/10
Verdict: Hold, but Pope could be back when we get to the double gameweek 37 time. Newcastle conceded the 5th highest xG of all teams (25.54 xGC) since the start of 2024
- Nick Pope should be back in the end of April, so Dubravka will be an option for some time
- He has been historically a very good FPL asset, good at saves (3.14 saves per match in the last 3 seasons) and solid at bonus points, but this season just 4 clean sheets, while averaging 3.8 saves per match
Areola (4.3m, West Ham) – 2/10
Verdict: Hold, wait for injury news, he could be out for a couple of weeks. But wait for injury news. If he is out, he is a sell for us.
- West Ham is 5th worst in xG conceded this season
- West Ham is very unpredictable in keeping clean sheets
- you must be patient with him to catch his occasional points
- He is back among top-scoring goalkeepers in the game. It just shows how unpredictable FPL is. Sometimes, you have to be more patient with the players you pick to catch their hauls.
Ederson (5.5m, Manchester City) – 4/10
Verdict: Monitor his injury situation. Is back form injury, could be an option for DGW37
- Expected points output over 38 games: 151 points (source)
- Manchester City’s average clean sheets over the last 5 seasons: 18 (source)
- Average saves per match in the last 3 seasons: 1.59 (source)
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Tips for picking the best goalkeepers for your FPL team
- With goalkeepers, you always want a keeper that has a very high chance of a clean sheet. You can use our Premier League Clean Sheets Odds to find goalkeepers, who are most likely to keep a clean sheet in the next gameweek of FPL.
- Also, when considering a goalkeeper for your fantasy team, you always have to take a look at fixtures and asses whether a certain goalkeeper has the potential for a clean sheet. Does he have a tough or easy fixture? And as we mentioned, our clean sheet odds will help you with that.
- Check FDR to find goalkeepers with a great fixture run that could be good for clean sheets
- Also, asses the save potential of a goalkeeper you would like to pick. Make sure you check which goalkeepers have the most saves and bonus points.
- Goalkeepers that are bonus points magnets can get double-digit haul when they keep a clean sheet. So when they keep a clean sheet in every 5th or 6th match, it is ok, as they deliver a big amount of points on those occasions.
- Do not forget to pick a playing goalkeeper to your bench, in case your first-choice GK gets injured. But your bench goalkeeper does not have to be an expensive one, as you will likely not need him many times. Choose a goalkeeper from the 4-4.5m price bracket as your backup
Strategies for picking a goalkeeper in FPL
King and the heir
You pick starting 4.5 million goalkeeper and 4.0 million backup goalkeeper from the same team. So, when the 4.5m number one gets injured, you will automatically have his replacement on your bench.
That way you will have coverage for 38 gameweeks for just 8.5 million in total. The disadvantage is, that 4.5m goalkeepers might not deliver so many points as you would need.
- Total costs = 4.5 + 4 = 8.5m
- Expected points output during the season = 120 – 130 points
Rotating goalkeepers
In this strategy, you pick two 4.5m, or 5.0m goalkeepers that rotates very well. So, when the first one has a home fixture, the other one has an away fixture. And the other way around.
Or when the first one has an easy fixture, the other one has a tough fixture. The idea is, that you will exploit this rotation (of H/A, or fixtures), to maximize the point output from your goalkeepers, as you will always play the one with the better fixture.
This strategy looks great on paper. But when put in practice, you will leave many points on the bench too many times. It is hard to predict where the points come from – sometimes, you bench goalkeepers with a tough fixture, but that could be the fixture with a surprising clean sheet, 6 saves and 3 bonus points.
The expected output of this strategy varies. You could score even 180+ points through the season with this strategy if your goalkeepers score points in fixtures when you want them to score. But if not, you might be actually losing points, as you might bench the big hauls.
- Total costs = 4.5 + 4.5 = 9m
- Expected points output during the season = 100 – 190 points
Premium set and forget
You pick one premium goalkeeper (like Ederson or Alisson) and do not worry about them the whole season. Premium goalkeepers have high clean sheet potential, although they rarely collect points for save points.
You would pick a 4.0 million goalkeeper to the bench – either a starting goalkeeper or a non-starting.
- Total costs = 4.0 + 5.5 = 9.5m
- Expected points output during the season = 135 – 160 points
Switching goalkeepers based on fixtures
The most common strategy in FPL. You pick one goalkeeper with a very good fixture run and when his fixtures turn red, you transfer him out for another goalkeeper whose fixtures improve.
- Total costs = 4.0 + 4.5/5.5m = 9.5m – 10.5m + transfers made
- Expected points output during the season = 110 – 190 points
FPL Goalkeepers with stable points output in the previous 4 seasons
How many points should you expect from your goalkeeper in Fantasy Premier League?
Do not have unrealistic expectations from your FPL goalkeepers.
- At best, the top teams can keep around 14-20 clean sheets per season. So, when you select a premium goalkeeper, expect he gets a clean sheet in every second match at the best.
- Mid-table teams tend to keep around 8-13 clean sheets per season. So, with mid-priced goalkeepers, expect a clean sheet in every fourth match
- Bottom table teams usually keep around 0-7 clean sheets per season. So when picking budget enablers from bottom-table teams, do not really expect more than a clean sheet in every 6th match.
- So, usually, a top-scoring goalkeeper can get around 140-160 points per season. On some occasions, the top-scoring goalkeeper can get even 170 points or more in a season – but it is hard to predict who it is going to be.
- So, 140-160 points is the number of points you should aim to get from your goalkeeper during the whole FPL season
Of course, you will never get a distribution of a clean sheet that is so symmetric – CS in every 2nd match, CS in every 4th match, etc…
Because of the Law of Large Numbers (when we are stretched too far from the mean, the values tend to return to the mean over time, and regression happens) and the Theory of Clusters (extreme values tend to be concentrated in the clusters), you will likely see a concentration of clean sheets in few matches, then a large strike of blanks, etc.
That’s why you should look at average clean sheet count when selecting a goalkeeper, and not just at his “form” – how many clean sheets he kept in the last few matches – as this can be just a cluster of extreme values (either a cluster of returns or a cluster of blanks).
How are goalkeepers awarded points in FPL?
The majority of FPL points for goalkeepers go through clean sheets – that’s their main source of points.
Then, saves can earn them a few extra points as well. And usually, when a goalkeeper keeps a clean sheet and gets 3 or more saves there is a potential that he will get awarded a few bonus points.
Penalty saves, assists and goals are rare points sources as well.
| Action | Points for goalkeepers |
|---|---|
| Playing up to 60 minutes | 1 |
| Playing 60+ minutes | 2 |
| Clean Sheet | 4 |
| Every 2 goals conceded | -1 |
| Every 3 saves | 1 |
| Penalty save | 5 |
| Goal scored | 6 (rare, but sometimes happen) |
| Assist | 3 (rare, but sometimes happen) |
| Bonus points | 1-3 |
| Yellow card | -1 |
| Red card | -3 |
| Own goal | -2 |
Further resources
