Stats: Who has been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League this season?

The Premier League this season has seen a number of goalkeepers turn hero as they help their sides go home with all three points. Clean sheets have been few and far in between but the shotstoppers from the top sides have been vital to their position in the league table.

Most saves

After 22 games, it is Stoke City’s 22-year-old English goalkeeper Jack Butland who leads the way with 80 saves so far. It is one of the reasons why the Potters are seventh in the table. At the top of the table are Arsenal and their only summer signing is in second place with 75 saves. Petr Cech was meant to save the Gunners ‘12 to 15 points a season’ according to former Chelsea teammate John Terry and he has done exactly that.

The two goalkeepers were the heroes last Sunday when the Gunners held Stoke to a 0-0 draw at the Britannia. Butland himself was present to give away the Man of the Match award to Cech – two goalkeepers who had the utmost respect for each other despite the rivalry between the two clubs.

Everton’s Tim Howard is also tied for second with 75 saves. After a relatively poor season last time out, the American goalkeeper has come back strong this campaign. The other goalkeepers to have made more than 70 saves are West Ham’s Adrian and Sunderland’s Costel Pantilimon.

Most saves in 2015/16 so far

#	Player	Club	Age	Appearances	Minutes	Saves
1	Jack Butland	Stoke City	22	22	1980	80
2	Petr Cech	Arsenal	33	22	1980	75
	Tim Howard	Everton	36	22	1980	75
4	Adrián	West Ham United	29	19	1709	71
5	Costel Pantilimon	Sunderland	28	17	1530	71
6	Boaz Myhill	West Bromwich Albion	33	22	1980	64
7	Brad Guzan	Aston Villa	31	20	1800	64
8	Heurelho Gomes	Watford	34	22	1957	62
9	Kasper Schmeichel	Leicester City	29	22	1890	59
10	Lukasz Fabianski	Swansea City	30	22	1980	58

Saves per goal conceded

When we look at the saves per goal conceded ratio, Stoke City’s Butland is ahead of Cech in this aspect too. Both clubs have a similar defensive record with Arsenal having conceded 21 goals while Mark Hughes’s side have conceded 22.

Jack Butland is proving to be one of the finest goalkeepers in the Premier League this season

The English goalkeeper has been a revelation this season and is a serious contender to take Hart’s place in the England setup in the future. The two other goalkeepers who have made 3 or more saves per goal conceded are Adrian (West Ham) and Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur).

Saves per goal conceded in 2015/16 so far

#	Player	Team	Appearances	Saves	Saves per Goal
1	Jack Butland	Stoke City	22	80	3.63
2	Petr Cech	Arsenal	22	75	3.57
3	Adrián	West Ham United	19	71	3.22
4	Hugo Lloris	Tottenham Hotspur	21	51	3
5	Joe Hart	Manchester City	20	46	2.87
6	David de Gea	Manchester United	18	48	2.67
7	Heurelho Gomes	Watford	22	62	2.48
8	Tim Howard	Everton	22	75	2.34
9	Kasper Schmeichel	Leicester City	22	59	2.27
10	Costel Pantilimon	Sunderland	17	71	2.15

Clean sheets

But when it comes to clean sheets, Joe Hart and Cech have the same – 10 clean sheets. But the English goalkeeper has made two lesser appearances, with Willy Caballero playing twice this season.

Safe hands – Joe Hart has kept 10 clean sheets in 20 games

Although Butland has more clean sheets (9) than Manchester United’s David De Gea (8), the Spanish goalkeeper has played lesser games having not started a single match until his transfer to Real Madrid collapsed.

Clean Sheets in 2015/16 so far

#	Player	Team	Appearances	Clean Sheets	Clean Sheet %
1	Joe Hart	Manchester City	20	10	50
2	Petr Cech	Arsenal	22	10	45.4
3	David de Gea	Manchester United	18	8	44.4
4	Jack Butland	Stoke City	22	9	40.9
5	Wayne Hennessey	Crystal Palace	16	6	37.5
6	Heurelho Gomes	Watford	22	8	36.3
7	Maarten Stekelenburg	Southampton	17	6	35.2
8	Hugo Lloris	Tottenham Hotspur	21	7	33.3
9	Simon Mignolet	Liverpool	21	7	33.3
10	Boaz Myhill	West Bromwich Albion	22	7	31.8

Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League