Goalkeeping is a lonely life. The rest of the team, especially the strikers, receive the lion’s share of the limelight. They spend the game in the thick of the action while the keeper mostly watches on. None of this detracts from the important role the goalkeeper plays in the team. They must organise the defenders, and call upon their own excellent reflexes to stop the ball from rifling in the back of the net and keep the score line in their team’s favour. If they save a penalty, they’re a hero; and if they fumble the ball, they’re a villain. Below is a look at stalwarts between the sticks who have tottered up the highest number of clean sheets in the Premier League.
Petr Cech
The recently retired Peter Cech tops the list with 161. Arsenal and Chelsea have both been able to count on the shot-stopper from the Czech Republic, who in the 2012/13 season accumulated a whopping 72 clean sheets for the Blues and 35 in the 2016/17 season for the Gunners. That’s some going!
Joe Hart
Currently at Burnley, England international Joe Hart follows Peter Cech and even then you might describing as toiling a little with 127. While serving Man City, Hart tallied clean sheets in the 20s or 30s each season for the club, kept 19 clean sheets while he was on loan to West Ham United in 2017/18 and did this same favour for Burnley last season.
Tim Howard
At the start of the year, the legendary keeper from the US who served Man United and Everton announced his intention to retire from Major League Soccer at the end of the 2019 season. In his time in the Premier League, the keeper frustrated many strikers and chalked up 116 clean sheets in the league, including 32 for Man Utd in the 2003/04 season and a regular tally in the 20s or 30s each season for Everton.
Who’s looking good this season?
Goalkeepers and the number of clean sheets they’ll keep on the bounce are always an exciting aspect to follow for betting fans, so it’s well worth checking out the latest football accumulator tips and who’s hot and who’s not in the Premier League.
Jordan Pickford, the young England international is one of three keepers already looking good in terms of who will keep the most clean sheets this season. He’s locked in a three-way tie so far with Vicente Guaita, of Crystal Palace, and Brazilian international Edelson, of Man City. The trio of keepers have two clean sheets to their name already this season. They have a score of goalies behind them on one clean sheet so far, including Man Utd shot-stopper David de Gea, who has a record of 101 clean sheets in the Premier League just now.
The greatest Premier League keeper of all time?
Well, that really is a tough one, but the statistics don’t lie. With 161 clean sheets to his during his time at the Premier League, you’d have to go with Petr Cech, who has retired from playing and now serves as a technical director at Chelsea.
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