Finding the best GK in the Bundesliga (sample)
deep diving in the bottom of the Bundesliga GK pool
Speaking of Köln, Beierlorzer, Olympics and keepers, meet Timo Horn! Once considered (I wasn’t alone in hyping him to make an EPL move) another prodigy that would one day feature for the DFB XI, the now 26-year-old was nearly doubling his XG conceded back in October, with 2.2 goals shipped on average to 1.2 via XGA per match in Aidan Reagh’s database:
The improvement to “only” per game is not too notable, but it’s worth pointing out that with that 1.2 XGC Cologne’s defense was actually not awful (they are on the same axis as Gladbach for example), but it appears Horn’s been one of the problems.
Another name you notice on the October 14 (top) vs November 16 version (below) is BVB, where the keeper with the most clean sheets this season is *checks notes* Marwin Hitz! That’s because in 8 Bundesliga games, Roman Bürki is sporting a 50burger save % and a -0.64 goals difference between his actual and expected goals shipped PER MATCH! We will cover Marwin Hitz in a different portion, and while there’s no real discussion on Dortmund having a GK problem, there perhaps should be. Certainly, Hitz isn’t an upgrade on Bürki in terms of distribution, but it’s not as if the former Freiburg GK is anything but average with his feet.
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