FPL clean sheet odds: 2026/27 guide

The odds of an FPL clean sheet are a team stat dressed up as a player pick. Clean sheets pay 4 points to goalkeepers and defenders, 1 point to midfielders and 0 to forwards, and the clean sheet is awarded only when a goalkeeper or defender plays at least 60 minutes and their team keeps a clean sheet. The best defence in the league last season, Arsenal, conceded 27 goals in 38 games and David Raya kept 19 clean sheets, yet even that record still means Arsenal failed to keep a clean sheet in exactly half of their matches. That is the real starting point for clean-sheet odds: the best you can buy is a coin flip, and the market prices it like a certainty.

A clean sheet in FPL is worth 4 points for the goalkeeper and every defender who completes 60 minutes, and nothing extra for clean sheets beyond that. Conceding costs points too: goalkeepers and defenders lose 1 point for every 2 goals their team concedes, capped at a loss of 4 points per match. So a defender on the league's best defence earns both the 4-point clean sheet and avoids the minus, which is why premium defenders are priced the way they are. What the points table hides is that the clean sheet itself is the same 4 points whether it comes from Arsenal's Gabriel or from a 4.5 million defender at Crystal Palace.

What last season's clean sheet numbers actually show

The 2025/26 snapshot is the cleanest data we have. Arsenal were the division's best defence by a distance: 27 goals conceded, 85 points, and Raya's 19 clean sheets, the most of any goalkeeper. Manchester City conceded 35 and Donnarumma kept 15. Then the drop-off is sharp: Everton conceded 50 and Pickford kept 11, Crystal Palace conceded 51 and Henderson kept 11, Chelsea conceded 52 and Sanchez kept 9. The three relegated sides, West Ham, Burnley and Wolves, conceded 65, 75 and 68 respectively, which is where the fixture list matters: the promoted clubs, Coventry City, Hull City and Ipswich Town, replace West Ham, Burnley and Wolves for 2026/27.

Among defenders the numbers tell the same story. Gabriel (Arsenal, 8.0m) led with 18 clean sheets and 209 points, ahead of Guehi (Manchester City, 6.0m) with 14 and 179, and Saliba (Arsenal, 6.0m) with 15 clean sheets but only 137 points. O'Reilly (Manchester City, 6.5m) also kept 14 clean sheets and scored 160 points. The cheapest clean-sheet sources on the snapshot are Mitchell (Crystal Palace, 4.5m) with 12 clean sheets and 135 points, Verbruggen (Brighton, 4.5m) with 10 and 130, Petrovic (Bournemouth, 4.5m) with 11 and 124, and Leno (Fulham, 4.5m) with 9 and 122.

Where the premium actually comes from

Here is the part of clean-sheet pricing that most managers miss. Mitchell at 4.5 million kept 12 clean sheets and scored 135 points. Saliba at 6.0 million kept 15 clean sheets and scored 137 points. You pay 1.5 million more for three extra clean sheets and two extra points. The premium defender's real edge is not the clean sheet at all. Gabriel's 209 points break down as roughly 72 points from his 18 clean sheets (18 x 4) and 137 from everywhere else: 30 bonus, three goals, five assists, appearance points. Virgil at Liverpool scored 6 goals from defence. O'Reilly scored 5. Munoz at Crystal Palace scored 4. The clean sheet is 4 points for everyone who gets it; the attacking contributions and bonus are what separate the 8.0 million defender from the 4.5 million one.

Midfielders make the point even sharper. Declan Rice (Arsenal, 7.5m) kept 18 clean sheets last season, the same number as Gabriel, but Rice got 18 points for them because a midfielder's clean sheet is worth 1 point, not 4. The same shutouts paid Gabriel 72 points. Clean sheets are a defender and goalkeeper currency, and even then they are the cheapest-earned part of a defender's total.

How to price clean-sheet odds for 2026/27

Three things matter more than last season's clean sheet column when you are picking a defender or goalkeeper for the new season.

Fixtures. Clean sheet odds follow the fixture list. The promoted trio, Coventry City, Hull City and Ipswich Town, replace the three worst defences in the division, and the teams who face them early are the teams priced for clean sheets. Arsenal host Coventry in gameweek 1, Manchester United host Hull in gameweek 1, Manchester City host Coventry in gameweek 3. The 2026/27 fixture difficulty data is published for all 38 gameweeks, and the opening imbalance favours Manchester United, who face only one side rated above 3 in their first eight fixtures.

Minutes and status. A clean sheet only counts when the defender or goalkeeper reaches 60 minutes, so nailed-on starters are the only ones who can bank clean sheets. The snapshot flags two premium Arsenal defenders, Jurrien Timber and William Saliba, as injured, which is exactly the kind of status flag that changes clean-sheet value at the start of a season. A 6.0 million defender who does not play is worth 0 points, not 15 clean sheets.

The bonus change. FPL added DefCon for 2026/27, a bonus for defensive contributions: 2 points for 10 or more tackles, interceptions, blocks, clearances and recoveries in a match, then 1 more point per further 5, capped at 5 per match, for all positions. For defenders this is a second, independent source of points on top of clean sheets, and it rewards exactly the kind of volume defending that the best defensive teams produce. A defender making 10-14 contributions gets 2 points, 40% of a clean sheet's value, without needing the clean sheet to happen.

The honest price for clean-sheet odds is this: the best defence in the league is a 50/50 bet week to week, the 4 points are identical for a 4.5 million defender and an 8.0 million one, and the only way a premium defender justifies the fee is by adding goals, assists and bonus to the same clean sheet. That is where the market misprices clean sheets. The odds the previous season produced are already in the price; the edge is in the fixture list and the injury list instead.

Key takeaways

• Clean sheets pay 4 points to goalkeepers and defenders who play 60+ minutes, 1 point to midfielders, 0 to forwards, with a -1 per 2 goals conceded cap of -4.
• Arsenal were the 2025/26 benchmark: 27 goals conceded and Raya's 19 clean sheets, but that is still a clean sheet in only half of their games.
• The premium defender's edge is goals, assists and bonus, not clean sheets: Saliba's 15 clean sheets scored only 2 more points than Mitchell's 12 at 4.5m.
• Rice kept the same 18 clean sheets as Gabriel and earned 18 points to Gabriel's 72 because of the position points scale.
• For 2026/27, price clean sheets off the fixture list and injury status, not last season's clean sheet column, and remember DefCon adds a second points stream for defensive volume.

FAQ

How many points is a clean sheet in FPL? 4 points for goalkeepers and defenders who play at least 60 minutes, 1 point for midfielders, 0 for forwards.

Do defenders lose points for conceding? Yes. Goalkeepers and defenders lose 1 point for every 2 goals their team concedes, capped at -4 per match.

Which team kept the most clean sheets in 2025/26? Arsenal, with Raya keeping 19 and Gabriel 18. Manchester City (Donnarumma 15) were second.

Is a clean sheet needed for a defender to score well? No. Gabriel's 209-point season was 72 points of clean sheets and 137 from bonus, goals, assists and appearances, and 4.5m Mitchell outscored nearly every defender while keeping 12 clean sheets.