England legend and former BBC presenter Gary Lineker has labelled Liverpool number one Alisson Becker as the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.
The former Tottenham and Barcelona striker also named Arsenal’s David Raya and Everton’s Jordan Pickford in his top three, but he ranked the Reds’ shot-stopper the highest:
“[David] Raya has been brilliant. As has consistently Jordan Pickford. I would throw him in there as well. Probably Alisson when fit. He’s special.”
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As Lineker mentions, the Brazilian international is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury that he sustained during the 1-0 defeat to Galatasaray at the end of September.
Alisson is close to a return
Speaking earlier this month, head coach Arne Slot said that he expects to have the 33-year-old available immediately after the international break.
That means fans should expect to see Alisson in training this week ahead of the home game against Nottingham Forest this weekend.
Otherwise, Giorgi Mamardashvili will be asked to continue in between the sticks a little while longer.
Liverpool’s no.1 didn’t start the season in great form
It must be said that the Brazilian’s numbers from his first six league appearances don’t make for good reading. His 56.3% save ratio is among the worst in the English top flight, with only Manchester United’s Altay Bayindir, West Ham’s Mads Hermansen and Wolves’ Jose Sa having lower percentages.
Things are slightly better when we compare non-penalty xG conceded to actual goals conceded. Alisson’s figure of -0.5 is still below average in the Premier League but it is substantially better than Mamardashvili (+2.4).
On this metric, the five best performers so far this campaign are Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson (+3.9), Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario (+3.7), Burnley’s Martin Dubravka (+2.2), Manchester City’s James Trafford (+1.9) and Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen (+1.8) Pickford is up there (+1.5) but Raya’s score (-0.5) is actually the same as Alisson’s at the moment.
Read more about the Liverpool First Team Squad for 2025/26 here