The importance given to attackers in a football team today is quite high, both by fans and the media, but goalkeepers rarely receive the attention and praise they deserve for how important their work is.
Having an in-form goalkeeper who does not frequently pick the ball out of the back of the net and who frustrates the opposition's chances is vital for any team, as can be seen, for example, ahead of tonight's match at Molineux.
The match between the Wanderers and the Villans is marked by a stark contrast in the goal, as the visitors have the best goalkeeper in the Premier League in terms of save percentage per shot on goal, while the home side's Portuguese goalkeeper is one of the worst in the domestic league in that regard.
Emiliano Martinez is the goalkeeper with the highest save percentage per shot received at 78.26%, ahead of Manchester City's Gianluigi Donnarumma (74.40%) and Robin Roefs (73.68%).
On the other side of the coin, Jose Sa is one of the worst goalkeepers in the English top flight this season in terms of save percentage per shot on goal. The Portuguese, with 58.73%, is only ahead of Leeds' Lucas Perri (56.72%) and behind Manchester United's Senne Lammens (62.32%).
Defence factor behind the stats
It should be noted that these percentages do not fully reflect the goalkeeper's performance, as this also depends on other factors such as how often he is tested by the opposition, which also has to do with the defence in front of them.
Interestingly, Sa is the starting goalkeeper for Wolves, who are bottom of the table with a mere 10 points, whose lacklustre attack, but above all, fragile defence has meant that the Portuguese keeper has been easily tested by opposing forwards in the championship.
On the other hand, Martinez has a solid defence in front of him, such as that of the Villans, who are having a remarkable season in the Premier League so far, sitting third with 51 points.
Martinez averages more saves per game with an average of 2.9 in 23 games played, compared to the Portuguese keeper's average of 2.2 in 15 games played. In fact, the Wolves keeper has an average of 1.56 goals conceded, well above that of 'Dibu' Martinez, who averages 0.8, the best in the league.