Evening Standard
·12 April 2024
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·12 April 2024
Jordan Pickford soon has a Double Gameweek 34 at home to Nottingham Forest and Liverpool
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A groin injury forced West Ham’s Alphonse Areola (£4.2m) to depart during half-time of Gameweek 30.
It means that Fantasy Premier League’s (FPL) most-selected goalkeeper has missed the latest two matches, with more to come.
Over 1.2 million have recently sold the Frenchman, noticing that his last 10 outings had already been avoiding clean sheets.
And he is not the only highly-chosen stopper who might need replacing.
Caoimhin Kelleher (£3.9m) may be about to step aside for almost-fit Alisson (£5.7m) and, similarly, an upcoming Nick Pope (£5.3m) return will impact Martin Dubravka (£4.2m).
With this in mind, here are a few goalkeeper targets courtesy of Fantasy Football Scout.
Jordan Pickford (£4.7m)
Currently FPL’s top-scorer in this position, Pickford was a very popular pick during the opening weeks of this season.
But failure to meet expectations meant many managers quickly gave up on him.
Everton finally kept a clean sheet in Gameweek 8 and, from then on, only Arsenal have secured more than their nine shutouts.
The joint-second best goalkeeper for bonus points (14), Pickford soon has Double Gameweek 34 at home to both Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.
Furthermore, he hosts Sheffield United in Gameweek 37, when lots of Bench Boost activations are anticipated.
David Raya’s Arsenal have kept six clean sheets in eight matches
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David Raya (£5.1m)
With a bit more money, managers may simply opt for Arsenal’s success, as those without a defensive double-up have missed out massively in recent times.
That is because the league’s best backline has kept six clean sheets in eight matches – Raya was ineligible for one of the other two - allowing just three big chances in that time.
No team has conceded fewer goals (24), shots on target (69) or big chances (30) over the whole campaign and, like the Toffees, they are on the verge of featuring twice in Gameweek 34.
Andre Onana has a run that includes Bournemouth, Sheffield United, Burnley and a Double GW37
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Andre Onana (£4.9m)
A golden combination of many clean sheets yet plenty of saves ensured Raya ended as 2022-23’s best FPL stopper.
It is a similar story for Manchester United’s Onana this time.
Narrowly behind Pickford on points, the Cameroonian is on eight shut-outs and the joint-most saves (121).
And those blocks are needed, as Erik ten Hag’s side shockingly ranks as the one that has conceded second-most shots (554) and third-most inside the penalty area (365).
So investing in Onana gives a promising fixture run that includes Bournemouth, Sheffield United, Burnley and Double Gameweek 37.
He will grab the occasional clean sheet while also profiting from the leaky defence ahead of him.