Supercoach EPL | Season Keeper Analysis

We are now six weeks into the Supercoach EPL season, and I think considering season keepers are already more relevant than most would realise.

Before I tell you why, let’s make sure we are all on the same page.

A season keeper is a term used in the Supercoach world to describe a top-averaging player teams should want in their sides for the rest of the season.

So, why do I think this is already so relevant just 6 weeks into a 38-week long Supercoach season?

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Trades are limited

Entering this week, I personally have 36 trades left, which may seem like a lot, but averages out to about 1.2 trades per round for the rest of the season.

I would imagine many teams are in a similar, if not worse, situation.

I am already getting worried about my trades, especially considering I know I want to save a lot of trades for the latter part of the season, where there are both blank and double gameweeks.

Yes, you heard that right.

Although I am not exactly sure how Supercoach will manage this, I would assume it would be similar to FPL.

Essentially, later in the season, we will have weeks where teams are on ‘byes’ and the games they miss will be rescheduled to other rounds, where they might play two games.

To make it even more difficult, these schedules do not get released until quite close to the date of the fixtures, as they are dependent on results in other competitions.

What I am getting at is you are going to need trades during this period if you want to score well and soar up the rankings, so we really want to be trading in season-long keepers now, to limit future trades.

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Elite players are bottoming in price

Another reason we should start identifying season-long keepers is that you can currently get a lot of them at a bargain price.

We will go into exactly who later, but I am sure you can think of a few off the top of your head.

Supercoach priced players off their averages last season, so for some elite guns who have started the season slow, they have leaked a lot of cash.

Now might be the time to lock them into our sides before they return to their usual hot form.

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We know more

The one attribute that all season-long keepers must have is that they are all but locked in to start for their sides every week.

Nothing is worse than checking the lineup to see your star Supercoach player sitting on the bench.

Six weeks into the season, we have a much better idea of who is locked into a starting role and who isn’t.

To add to that, we also know a lot more about which teams are good and bad.

Obviously, we want to target defensive assets from the league’s best defences and similarly attacking options from the league’s best attacks.

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Scoring is volatile

As I am sure you have already identified, player scoring in EPL Supercoach is extremely volatile as scores are so heavily impacted by attacking returns.

A shot hitting the post or a blundered scoring chance could be the difference between your player scoring 3 or 15.

Therefore, when making trades, it is important to not be purely reactionary to how players have been scoring so far this season.

Instead, we should be looking at these players prospectively, bringing in who we think is most likely to score well in the coming weeks or months.

Or in the case of this article, for the rest of the season…

Hopefully, I have convinced you of the importance of trading in season-long keepers.

Unfortunately, you can’t just go onto the Supercoach website and filter for these players; instead, it is really just based on personal opinion.

So these are the players I am targeting as my best ‘season keepers’.

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Goalkeepers

David Raya (Arsenal)

I started the season with Raya and intend to end the season with him.

Arsenal have proven themself to be the best defence in the league over the last few seasons.

They are the team most likely to keep a clean sheet on a week-to-week basis, and for a goalkeeper, that is pretty much all you need.

Lock him in.

Other options

Maybe you already own one or two Arsenal defenders, or maybe you want to go a little against the grain.

If so, I think there are a few other options I would be happy having as my goalkeeper for the rest of the season.

Pope, Henderson, and Vicario, I think, can all be viable options as Newcastle, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham all appear to be relatively solid at the back this season.

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Defenders

Arsenal defenders

As mentioned above, I think Arsenal has the best defense in the league, so naturally, I am going to recommend their defenders as well.

So far this season, when healthy, Arteta seems to be favoring a back four of Calafiori, Gabriel, Saliba, and Timber.

Pick and choose whoever you’d like out of these guys; they will all do a job.

If you are moving this week, I would go with Saliba as he is at a heavily discounted price due to a couple of injury-affected matches.

How many is too many, you may ask?

I wouldn’t recommend more than two defensive assets from any given team.

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Crystal Palace defenders

Crystal Palace is the only undefeated side left in the Premier League this season after an impressive 2-1 victory over Liverpool last week.

Their biggest strength is how they set up defensively, as they have become a team that is very hard to break down.

I think Tyrick Mitchell and Daniel Munoz are the best options here, as they are playing as wingbacks and are most likely to snag some attacking returns.

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Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth)

A first attacking return in the form of an assist helped Sensi to yet another monster score on the weekend.

Bournemouth have shown signs of being a very solid defence this season, but it isn’t this that excites me the most.

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out Harry’s article from last week on base stats in EPL Supercoach, as it really is must-read stuff and I will refer to it a bit throughout this article.

Senesi is a base stat machine, averaging 6.2 points a game in base, tied for second most in the league.

Those base stats as a floor, combined with his clean sheet potential, scream season keeper.

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Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool)

Same story as Senesi, VVD is a base stat machine, averaging 5.8 base points per game.

He also happens to play for the best team in the league.

If Liverpool can sort out their defence and start keeping clean sheets, expect VVD to be a top scorer in Supercoach.

Midfielders

It is slim pickings at the midfield position as Supercoach decided to make almost all attacking players forwards in the game.

To challenge us even more, they allow us to select five midfielders and only three forwards.

Anyway, enough complaining, these are my best picks for season keepers at the midfield position.

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Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)

As a Chelsea fan, I absolutely love this guy, and I am glad Supercoach is recognising how unbelievably hard he works.

Caicedo leads all midfielders in base stats, averaging 5.8 per game.

He has started the season with two goals already, and honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t score again all season.

Assists should come though.

Even still, in a position with few options, a floor of 6 points per game is hard to pass up on.

Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)

Bowen is pure class and has been for a long time now.

The issue is obviously that he plays for West Ham, but mind you, they have looked a bit better over the past few games.

When West Ham do score, you expect him to be involved, and we have already seen this so far this season.

As one of the only true attacking players that you can get in the midfield in Supercoach, I like him as a season-long play.

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Wait and See options

There are a few more players that I think could turn into season keepers, but haven’t just convinced me yet.

If Phil Foden or Eberechi Eze can start seeing regular minutes, I think both could excel in their attacking roles for elite teams

Maybe it is my Chelsea bias, but once Cole Palmer is back and drops in price, I will also be looking to bring him back into my side.

Forwards

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

I could write you paragraphs on why Haaland is the epitome of a season keeper, but there is no need.

He is already 99% owned amongst teams in the top 10%, and for the 1% that don’t own, it’s time to buy.

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Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth)

He is the main man at Bournemouth, and everything seems to be going through him, including penalties.

Semenyo has started the season on fire, and there is nothing that makes me think this is going to stop.

Still a POD option up front, I would love to own him for the rest of the season.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Yes, I had to include him.

The Egyptian King has yet to hit full stride this season, but neither has Liverpool.

If they can put it all together, we know the sky is the limit for Salah.

The question is, when is the right time to bring him in?

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Joao Pedro (Chelsea)

He started the season hot, but has since struggled.

This is a result of Chelsea’s struggles, not his own.

I think high-scoring performances like the start of the season are just around the corner, and could continue all season long.

Arsenal options

Both Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka are yet to take off this season, but I expect both players to score well over the course of the season.

With Arsenal looking to dominate many teams, both these players are season-long plays if they can lock in starting minutes week to week.