The Premier League Golden Glove Race: Will There Be a New Winner at Last?
By Space Coast Daily // January 19, 2023
The race between the league’s goalkeepers for the Golden Glove award is beginning to take shape now that all of the teams are roughly halfway through their fixture list.
For the last four years, Brazilian goalkeepers Alisson Becker and Ederson Moraes have dominated the award, not just due to their own brilliance, but owing to the quality of their incredible Liverpool and Manchester City teams.
Pope has been instrumental in Newcastle’s rise
Nick Pope is a strong contender to end the run of Brazilians sharing the award. The English goalkeeper joined Newcastle United in the summer following the relegation of his former side Burnley to the Championship.
The Magpies have been in excellent form under Eddie Howe this season, and they are now in strong contention to finish in a UEFA Champions League qualification spot.
In the Premiership odds, Newcastle are offered at -163 to finish in the top four as they are now widely expected to beat the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur to a place in Europe’s most prestigious competition.
Pope has played a key role in Newcastle’s push for continental qualification, at the halfway point of the season he was leading the league with 11 clean sheets.
Pope’s incredible season has shown no signs of slowing down and he is certain to be in with a strong shout of claiming the Golden Glove award this year, as well as staking a huge claim to break into Gareth Southgate’s England reckoning.
Ederson could retain his title
Ederson has won the Premier League’s Golden Glove award for the past three seasons, the last of which he held jointly with his compatriot Alisson.
The poor form of Liverpool in the first half of the season has likely put Alisson out of the running to retain his title, but Ederson is still in with a great chance. City has had shortcomings of its own, often dropping points to teams lower down the table due to defensive mishaps.
Considering the strength of his team, and their ability to maintain strong form in the title run-in, he is certainly still in with a chance of catching Pope’s clean sheet tally.
Potential Spanish winner
David de Gea was the last non-Brazilian keeper to win the award, which came in 2017/18 which was arguably the greatest season of his career. The Spaniard’s form in between the sticks has been inconsistent this season but he has still managed many clean sheets.
After 19 games played he had managed eight clean sheets and is one of the keepers best suited to chase down Pope in the race to win the Golden Glove.
Another potential Spanish winner comes in the form of a dark horse option. Brentford’s form has been hugely impressive this season and they have found themselves comfortably in the top half and well in the mix to secure their place in Europe next season.
David Raya has reaped the rewards of his team’s strong form, he recorded six clean sheets in his first 19 appearances of the season and could potentially make a surprise run to win the award in the late stages of the season.
The Golden Glove race is difficult to call with many keepers in the running, owing to the quality of the keepers in the league at present.
Almost every team in the league has a top-quality option between the sticks and we could likely see a new winner of the award this season, but Ederson’s ability to consistently claim the award is a sign he could do it again.
