Five keepers with maximum Goal Prevention in Europe's top five Leagues

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Bengaluru, April 22: Judging the goalkeepers in terms of their clean sheet count is not always fair.

Keeping a clean sheet not only requires a good goalkeeper but also a good line defence and team. Hence, there are several portions to assess a keeper's capacity.

Keeping such requirements in mind, Opta has been providing new advanced metrics and one of them is Expected goals on target to judge a keeper's strength.

Expected Goals, or xG, are the number of goals a player or team should have scored when estimating the number and type of chances they had in a match. And Expected goals on target is a post-shot model based on the originally Expected goals model which assess the quality of the chance and the quality of the shot in terms of their placing.

Opta have lined-up five goalkeepers around the world in top five leagues, who have prevented such certain goal-scoring opportunities and stopped the most number of such shots on target they’ve faced.

Here are the five keepers (as per OPTA):

5. Walter Benitez

Nice have one of the leakiest defences in the Ligue 1 as there are only five teams in the division who have conceded more goals than them. However, it could have been worse if the Argentine shot-stopper was not there. Benitez may have kept only five clean sheets however he has prevented an impressive 7.0 Goals on target.

4. Dean Henderson

One of the best keepers in the league who has risen to prominence this season, Henderson has not only impressed with his side's clean sheet records in Premier League but also produced some brilliant individual match-winning performances. He has prevented a whopping 7.2 Goals for Sheffield United this season helping the side sitting at the doorstep of the qualification of European football next season.

3. Wojciech Szczesny

Not many would have thought the transition from Buffon could be easy however the former Arsenal player since joining the team has proven to be a rock-solid addition. Juventus have not been quite thick in the backline this term but Szczesny has kept his side alive many times this season with individual brilliance. He has prevented 7.4 Goals which hints he also has had a fair share of involvement helping his side holding the top position.

2. Martin Dubravka

One of the very surprise names on the list, the Newcastle United goalkeeper may not be getting all the hype, however, his 8.7 Goals Prevention is one of the best in the World. His individual effort precisely has helped Newcastle sitting out of relegation zone comfortably and Dubraka deserves plenty of credit for it.

1. Vicente Guaita

The Crystal Palace keeper is one of the more unsung heroes in the Premier League and helped his side having the sixth-best defensive record in the league. His 9.6 Goals Prevention is more than anyone in the world.