Premium goalkeepers — Alisson, Raya, Sánchez
The 5.5m+ tier in 2026-27 will be a three-horse race. Alisson (Liverpool) historically combines clean sheets with bonus from saves; Raya (Arsenal) was 25/26's GK of the season and Arsenal's defensive system supports him; Sánchez (Chelsea) is the dark-horse premium pick as Chelsea's back four stabilises. Pick one and rotate cheap bench backup.
The 26/27 season is underway — build this squad with live prices.
Mid-price value — the 5m tier
The 5m tier is where the smartest managers play: starting GKs for established mid-table clubs with shutout potential. Sels (Forest), Pope (Newcastle), Henderson (Palace) all qualify. Look for fixture-friendly opening weeks — Forest's opening 4 are softer than Newcastle's, which makes Sels the early pick.
Budget enablers — 4-4.5m
Budget GKs are bench fodder by design: cheap, ideally never starting, never injured. The job is to cost 4.0m so the money lands in your attack. Check the predicted XIs for the three promoted clubs (Coventry, Ipswich, Hull) before locking one in — a 4.0m keeper who is actually second choice is the quietest way to waste a squad slot. Avoid any 4.5m keeper in a genuine two-way battle for the shirt.
Differentials — keepers under 8% ownership
Below-radar GKs who could break out: Petrović (Bournemouth, £4.5m), Steele (Brighton, £4.0m), Dovin (Coventry, £4.0m). One of these gets to 30+ ownership by GW10 — backing the right one is a 50-point swing.
Defensive Contribution does not apply to goalkeepers
Worth being explicit about, because it changes where your money goes. The Defensive Contribution points that now reward outfield players do not apply to goalkeepers — a keeper still scores through clean sheets, saves, penalty saves, bonus and appearance points, exactly as before. Every other position got a new floor in 26/27; the goalkeeper did not. That makes the relative case for a premium keeper slightly weaker than it looks on last season's numbers, and it is an argument for taking the 5.0m starter and pushing the saved money into a defender who clears the DC threshold every week.
Captaining a goalkeeper?
Almost never — but the exception is when a top-clean-sheet GK faces a newly promoted side at home in a low-difficulty matchweek. The model flags those moments. Do not make it a default play, but do not rule it out either.