24 Jun, 2025
We simulated the entire 2025/26 season, and applied the official FPL scoring criteria, to identify the best FPL options for the upcoming season. With some interesting results 👀!
Before we get started!                                                                   By William Reid
So, what players should you be looking at ahead of the upcoming season? Well, my expertise is in Football Manager, the most accurate football simulation there is. So I’ve simulated next season on the game to see which players will be worth focusing on.
I’ve used an edited database that includes current ability and potential ability updates based on the 2024/25 season. It also has all the transfers, promotions/relegations, and new wonderkids that weren’t in Football Manager 2024. So although we haven’t had a new Football Manager for a while, this is the closest we can get (for now) to a realistic simulation of what might happen next season.
So, what went down? And which players will be shining next season? Let’s start with the goalkeepers (and in future articles, we’ll move on to defenders, midfielders, and strikers)
Obviously, you have your usual suspects rising to the top. Ederson gets 20 clean sheets and Alisson picks up 19. In the 2024/25 season, the most clean sheets came from David Raya with 13, so this is a huge improvement. This season saw Alisson and Ederson play far fewer games in real life, so Football Manager isn’t reflecting the intense rotation we see at the top levels of European football. But a great strategy could be to have one of these two – and their backup – to ensure you always have Liverpool or Man City defence coverage.
But, if you’re looking for cheaper, more wildcard options between the sticks, there are plenty of interesting candidates. Caoimhin Kelleher, recently signed by Brentford, got 11 clean sheets. This would represent a huge potential improvement on the 45 points he got in the 2024/25 season as Liverpool’s backup goalkeeper. Newcastle also registered 13 clean sheets in the simulation, so if James Trafford gets the expected move to St James’ Park, he looks like a very safe pair of hands to have in goal. These types of keepers will often yield plenty of points for saves.
Jordan Pickford may have been the highest-scoring goalkeeper in the 2024/25 season, but in this simulation, he only manages 7 clean sheets. It’s looking very likely that he won’t be good value with the expected price rise. Nottingham Forest also conceded the second-most goals (only 20th-placed Sunderland conceded more). With European football adding to their schedule and the fact they’ll probably not reach the heights of this incredible season, it might be worth avoiding their keeper Matz Sels, who will surely go up in price.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be doing articles on the best defenders, midfielders, and strikers, so stay tuned!
Last Updated: 24/06
