FPL goalkeepers tips and statistics: Gameweek 1 budget, differential and premium picks

The old saying goes that you need a great goalkeeper to win the league, and that also rings true in FPL. 

We’ve been very busy since the end of last season, trying to find the best way to determine which Premier League goalkeepers might go under the radar in FPL this season. The result is our brand new FPL rating system… the Squawka Score.

The Squawka Score judges a player’s output per 90 for a group of selected stats, with various weightings based on their potential to lead to actual points in FPL. Our tool then gives each player a percentage rating from 0 to 100. You can learn more about how we devised our fantasy football ranking system here. 

If you think you can beat our FPL boffins, you can join the Squawka Challenge League here.

In this article we’ve been looking at the best goalkeeping options for Gameweek 1, but keep in mind that we won’t take into account players who weren’t in the Premier League last season — we’ll be introducing their Squawka Scores throughout August as they begin to build up their stats.

The best FPL goalkeepers
Our top goalkeeper pick for Gameweek 1
The best budget goalkeepers for Gameweek 1
The best goalkeepers based on fixture difficulty

The Best FPL Goalkeepers

Using their 2022/23 FPL Squawka Score, we’ve compiled this list of the top 10 goalkeepers. We’ve also added their 2023/24 FPL Price to the table so you can see where any hidden value may lie.

For the FPL goalkeeper Squawka Score, the per 90 output of each player is compared to all goalkeepers across the past three top-five European league seasons using an automatically calculated minimum minutes played threshold.

Our top tip for Gameweek 1

As part of our weekly FPL coverage, we’re going to pick out a Differential Duel ahead of every Gameweek. The idea is that it will pit two comparable assets against each other — one who isn’t necessarily being selected by most FPL managers, and one who is proving popular. We’ll give you the stats and it’s then on you to make the final call as to who gets the nod.

Here’s who we think might be a good shout to fill your keeping berth this weekend and could prove to be the best differential on the market. This week we’re pitting Sam Johnstone (1.3% ownership) against England team-mate Aaron Ramsdale (20.1%) ahead of the opening weekend of action. Interestingly, Johnstone (58%) has the better Squawka Score compared to Ramsdale (53%) but costs 0.5m less than the Arsenal stopper. 

The best budget picks for Gameweek 1

OK, the goalkeepers at the bottom end of the price scale might not start you many (if any!) games, but they certainly serve a purpose in FPL. If you’re looking for genuine starters, we recommend starting with our 4.5 picks. We’ve run the numbers from last season through our Squawka Score super computer and found the budget picks ahead of Gameweek 1. 

The best 4.0 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Fraser Forster, Tottenham (45%)
2. Marek Rodak, Fulham (29%)
3. Alphonse Areola, West Ham (5%)

The best 4.5 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Bernd Leno, Fulham (59%)
2. Sam Johnstone, Crystal Palace (58%)
3. Lukasz Fabianski, West Ham (57%)

The best goalkeepers based on fixture difficulty

You’ve probably got a pretty good idea of where you’ll be putting your goalkeeping chips this weekend already, but we’ve got one more thing for you to consider. We’ve crunched the numbers using both the FPL’s official Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR) and our Squawka Score tool to determine the best player to pick from each club opening the season with an ‘easy’ fixture.

*Expected to start, but does not qualify for a Squawka Score as he did not feature in the Premier League last season.