Welcome to our Fantasy Premier League Defensive Analysis For Gameweek 30 article. This week NaturalFootyFan picks out the clubs with the best clean sheet potential ahead of the weekend's fixtures.
Gameweek 29 was another exciting spectacle in the Premier League. Every match was fiercely battled, with five red cards and just three clean sheets across the board.
Swansea and Manchester City made use of home advantage, defeating relegation dwellers Norwich and Aston Villa respectively, without conceding. Elsewhere, West Brom were the opportunists, winning by a single goal as they pounced upon a wounded Man United - after Juan Mata was shown a red card just 25 minutes into the contest.
Despite recording just one shutout in their last four matches, The Potters lead the pack with three goals conceded. Five of Stoke's last six clean sheets have come at The Britannia, and it's well known as one of the most difficult venues to visit in England.
Southampton have struggled away from home, picking up just 17 points from an available 42 on the road this season. In the past, their struggles in-front of goal were masked by perfectly executed defensive tactics, but recently their scoring incompetence has been revealed.
If Bournemouth are to have any chance of a clean sheet, they will have to keep Gylfi Sigurdsson on a leash. With six goals in his last ten matches, The Cherries backline will have to stand strong and close down Swansea's linchpin at every opportunity.
It was no surprise that Man City and Leicester top this chart, as both have a very attractive fixture in Gameweek 30.
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last five trips to Carrow Road and should dominate this match from the first to the last whistle. Pellegrini's men bounced back from their Gameweek 28 defeat to Liverpool with a storming performance in a four goals to nil victory over Aston Villa.
Leicester City are in strong position to protect their top of the table status, having kept a clean sheet in five of their last six matches at the King Power. They welcome a disjointed Newcastle side, who have lost seven away matches in succession - scoring just twice in the process.
The bookies are always a great source for unbiased opinion and their conclusion is that Tottenham have the greatest chance of a clean sheet in Gameweek 30. The North London club may have been dealt a blow in the Europa League on Thursday, but they remain favourites in this one.
Spurs are unbeaten in their last eight trips to Villa Park (W6 D2) and face a depleted side who will equal their worst tally of Premier League defeats in a single season (20), if they lose on Sunday.
Bournemouth sneak in at second place, with a 44% implied chance of a shutout versus Swansea City. Just 25.9% of The Swans passes this season have come in the attacking third - exactly the type of stat you want to hear, if you own a Bournemouth defender.
In Form Defences Ahead Of Gameweek 30:
Moving into Gameweek 30, let's start by taking a look at recent form. The following table displays the top five defences based on their number of clean sheets and average goals conceded in their last four Premier League matches:| Team | Clean Sheets | Goals Conceded |
|---|---|---|
| Stoke | 1 | 3 |
| Bournemouth | 2 | 4 |
| Leicester | 2 | 4 |
| Swansea | 1 | 4 |
| Southampton | 1 | 5 |
Easiest Defensive Fixture In Gameweek 30:
The table below displays the top five defences based on opposition goals scored and big chances created. Capital letters are used for home teams and lowercase for away teams. The data is taken from the last four Premier League matches:| Team | Vs. | Goals Scored | Big Chances |
|---|---|---|---|
| mci | NOR | 3 | 4 |
| LEI | new | 3 | 5 |
| STO | sou | 3 | 7 |
| BOU | swa | 4 | 6 |
| new | LEI | 5 | 11 |
Bookies Clean Sheet Odds For Gameweek 30:
The table below displays the top five teams based on the bookies odds to keep a clean sheet in Gameweek 30. The odds have been converted into implied chance percentage:| Team | Implied Chance % |
|---|---|
| Tottenham | 51% |
| Bournemouth | 44% |
| Man City | 43% |
| Leicester | 43% |
| Stoke | 36% |
Gameweek 30 Clean Sheet Verdict:
Based on our analysis and research methods we now have our top three recommendations based on form, fixture and odds. We have also thrown in a bonus, generally a side ranked high across all of our charts.
Here is our summary and predicted backlines for Gameweek 30:
Form: Stoke (vs. SOU)
Butland
Cameron Shawcross Wollscheid Pieters
Fixture: Man City (vs. NOR)
Hart
Zabaleta Kompany Otamendi Kolarov
Odds: Tottenham (vs. AVL)
Lloris
Walker Alderweireld Wimmer Rose
Dier
Bonus: Leicester (vs. NEW)
Schmeichel
Simpson Morgan Huth Fuchs
