Fantasy Premier League

Karius emerges as player who can save FPL seasons

By The Scout 16 Feb 2018
Loris Karius, Liverpool

Looking at options for the run-in, The Scout says Liverpool's new No 1 is challenging De Gea for Fantasy attention

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The Scout is giving a position-by-position guide of Fantasy Premier League players ahead of the final 11 Gameweeks of the season.

Goalkeepers

Liverpool's new No 1 Loris Karius (£4.8m) is building a case to become the top goalkeeper option for managers.

The German had mainly been used in rotation with Simon Mignolet (£4.8m).

But Jurgen Klopp confirmed Karius recently as his first choice and gave him five successive Gameweek starts.

Karius's FPL output was boosted by his penalty save and nine-point tally against Tottenham Hotspur in Gameweek 26.

He ranks among the very best in terms of points per 90 minutes.

In fact, only David De Gea (£5.9m), the top-scoring and top-owned goalkeeper in FPL, can better his 5.0 points per 90.

Top points per 90  (min. 500mins)
 GK Price Pts/90
De Gea £5.9m 5.07
Karius £4.8m 5.00
Pope £4.9m 4.92
Ederson £5.6m 4.15
Fabianski £4.6m 4.15
Courtois £5.5m 4.12
Lloris £5.4m 3.88
Ryan £4.5m 3.78
Schmeichel £5.0m 3.74
Lossl £4.6m 3.74
Guaranteed fixtures

The emergence of Karius as an option for FPL managers is timely because it coincides with the impact of the FA Cup on the remaining fixture schedule.

The FA Cup quarter-finals fall on the weekend of Gameweek 31, with postponements likely to limit the active players in FPL squads.

Liverpool are one of four teams guaranteed to play after they were knocked out along with their Gameweek 31 opponents Watford

We will learn more on the other rescheduled fixtures once the FA Cup fifth round is complete.

For now, Liverpool stand out as a source of player targets for Gameweek 31, with Karius a new name to consider.

Kind opponents

Three of Liverpool's next four opponents, including Watford, score only two in the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR).

In total, seven of their remaining 11 Gameweek opponents are ranked as two in the FDR.

That could ensure Karius ranks among the top-scoring goalkeepers for the season run-in.

The only catch

He is, however, likely be reliant purely on clean sheets for his points.

He has made only 12 saves in his eight starts, at an average of 1.5 saves per 90 minutes.

That ranks bottom among FPL goalkeepers, with Lukasz Fabianski (£4.6m) top with 3.70 saves per 90 minutes.

De Gea is the top-ranked goalkeeper for potential bonus points.

The Manchester United goalkeeper has recorded 21.3 points in the Bonus Points System (BPS) per 90 minutes, a statistic also matched by Nick Pope (£4.9m).

Also in this series

Part 2: FPL managers must focus on full-back potential
Part 3: Freescoring Salah the essential FPL midfielder
Part 4: Will return of Jesus slow Aguero's surge?

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