Top clean sheet teams for GW36
Brighton lead the GW36 defensive projections by a distance. At home to Wolves, they carry a 0.65 clean sheet probability, comfortably the best mark of the week. After them, the next tier is much tighter, with Aston Villa away at Burnley on 0.48, Everton away at Crystal Palace on 0.46, Man Utd away at Sunderland on 0.46, and Arsenal away at West Ham on 0.40.
Those numbers make Brighton the standout target if you are buying a defender this week. Villa and Everton look strong for managers chasing stability, while Arsenal still deserve respect because their best defensive asset also brings serious attacking threat.
Best defender per team
Brighton, Jan Paul van Hecke
Van Hecke is the clear headline pick from the best fixture on the board. Brighton have a 0.65 clean sheet probability at home to Wolves, and Van Hecke is their top projected defender at £4.6m with 5.24 xP. At that price, he offers the best blend of affordability and clean sheet upside in GW36.
Aston Villa, Emiliano Martinez
Villa travel to Burnley with a 0.48 clean sheet probability. The top projected Villa defensive asset is actually Martinez at £5.1m and 4.37 xP, which tells you the clean sheet is doing most of the heavy lifting here. If you want Villa coverage, the goalkeeper is the cleanest route.
Everton, Jordan Pickford
Everton are at 0.46 for a shutout away to Crystal Palace, matching Man Utd and sitting just behind Villa. Pickford is their standout defensive pick at £5.6m with 4.53 xP. Everton’s defensive structure keeps him firmly in the conversation for managers wanting a one week goalkeeper punt.
Man Utd, Lammens
Man Utd also post a 0.46 clean sheet probability away to Sunderland. Their top projected defensive option is Lammens at £5.1m and 4.02 xP. The projection is solid rather than spectacular, but the fixture is good enough to put United firmly in the top five.
Arsenal, Gabriel
Arsenal’s clean sheet probability of 0.40 away to West Ham is lower than the teams above them, but Gabriel still ranks as one of the best defenders of the week. He costs £7.2m and projects for 5.27 xP, the highest defender projection among these top five teams. That is the power of pairing clean sheet potential with major goal threat.
Goalkeeper picks
- Emiliano Martinez, Aston Villa, £5.1m, 4.37 xP, backed by a 0.48 clean sheet probability away to Burnley.
- Jordan Pickford, Everton, £5.6m, 4.53 xP, backed by a 0.46 clean sheet probability away to Crystal Palace.
- Nick Pope, Newcastle, £5.0m, 3.75 xP, with Newcastle on a 0.39 clean sheet probability away to Nottingham Forest.
One final note on the wider pool. Bournemouth and Newcastle both sit on 0.39, with Senesi at £5.2m and 4.37 xP, and Pope at £5.0m and 3.75 xP. They narrowly miss the top five teams, but both remain viable if your squad structure points that way.