What the reported numbers show
Among the eight teams with figures supplied, Arsenal combines the highest clean-sheet rate with the strongest reported final record. Its 9 clean sheets from 17 covered matches produce a rate of 52.9%, ahead of Manchester City’s 47.1%.
The top of the clean-sheet ranking and the top of the reported standings therefore overlap: Arsenal is first on both measures and City is second on both. Below them, however, the ordering becomes less consistent. Sunderland records more clean sheets than every listed team except Arsenal and City, yet its reported rank is seventh.
Clean-sheet rate ranking
The table is sorted by clean-sheet rate rather than final rank. Every listed team has the same denominator of 17 covered matches, so the percentages are directly comparable within these eight records.
| Team | Clean sheets / covered matches | Rate | Covered W-D-L | GF-GA (GD) | Reported rank | Reported points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 9 / 17 | 52.9% | 12-3-2 | 31-10 (+21) | 1 | 85 |
| Manchester City | 8 / 17 | 47.1% | 12-1-4 | 41-16 (+25) | 2 | 78 |
| Sunderland | 6 / 17 | 35.3% | 7-6-4 | 19-17 (+2) | 7 | 54 |
| Aston Villa | 5 / 17 | 29.4% | 11-3-3 | 27-18 (+9) | 4 | 65 |
| Liverpool | 5 / 17 | 29.4% | 9-2-6 | 28-25 (+3) | 5 | 60 |
| Bournemouth | 5 / 17 | 29.4% | 5-7-5 | 26-29 (-3) | 6 | 57 |
| Brighton | 4 / 17 | 23.5% | 6-6-5 | 25-23 (+2) | 8 | 53 |
| Manchester United | 1 / 17 | 5.9% | 7-5-5 | 31-28 (+3) | 3 | 71 |
Where rate and final standings align
Arsenal and Manchester City set the benchmark
Arsenal’s 9 clean sheets are one more than City’s 8, and its rate is 5.8 percentage points higher when both are calculated over 17 covered matches. Their reported rank and points also follow the same order: Arsenal is first with 85 points, while City is second with 78.
That is the strongest alignment in the supplied figures. It identifies Arsenal as the team with the best combination of defensive shutouts and reported final standing among the available records. It does not, on its own, show that the clean sheets produced the points advantage.
Equal rates can sit alongside different records
Aston Villa, Liverpool and Bournemouth each have 5 clean sheets in 17 matches, giving all three a 29.4% rate. Their reported standings are nevertheless different: Villa is fourth with 65 points, Liverpool is fifth with 60, and Bournemouth is sixth with 57. The identical clean-sheet rate does not create identical rank or points totals.
Where the orders diverge
Sunderland is the clearest example of a split between the two measures. Its 6 clean sheets and 35.3% rate place it third among the eight listed teams, but its reported rank is seventh with 54 points. Brighton, by contrast, has 4 clean sheets at a 23.5% rate and is eighth with 53 points.
The largest contrast is Manchester United. It is reported third with 71 points, yet its 1 clean sheet from 17 covered matches is the lowest rate in the table at 5.9%. This prevents a simple claim that a higher clean-sheet rate always corresponds to a higher final position.
At most, the figures show a mixed descriptive association. Arsenal and City lead both lists, but Sunderland and Manchester United demonstrate that the rankings do not move together throughout the supplied teams. The comparison cannot establish correlation as a causal relationship, and it cannot identify why the orders differ.
Method and coverage
Rate calculation
Clean-sheet rate is calculated as clean sheets divided by covered team-match observations. For example, Arsenal’s rate is 9 ÷ 17 = 52.9% after rounding to one decimal place. The same completed-match convention is applied to every listed team.
The wider scope covers 20 teams, with team statistics based on 17–25 covered matches. In the eight supplied rows used here, each team has 17 covered matches. The denominator is shown explicitly in the table rather than treating the rate as a full-season percentage.
How the records are presented
W-D-L, goals for, goals against and goal difference are shown as covered-match context. Reported rank and standings points are retained as supplied final-standing measures; they are not recalculated from the 17-match W-D-L figures. Clean-sheet totals and final-standing values should therefore be compared descriptively, with their different coverage conventions kept in view.
Limitations
- The numerical material available for this article contains eight named team rows. Twelve additional rows are referenced within the 20-team scope, but their figures are not supplied, so a complete league-wide clean-sheet ranking cannot be verified here.
- A supported rank-and-points comparison with Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Burnley cannot be made from the available figures. Arsenal and Manchester City are included and reported above.
- The data is team-level. It contains no player scoring totals or goalkeeper-level clean-sheet totals, so it cannot answer player-specific leader questions.
- The comparison is observational. It describes how clean-sheet rates and reported standings appear together in the available records; it does not prove that clean sheets caused points, rank or any other outcome.
FAQ
Who has the most clean sheets in the Premier League 2025-26 comparison?
Arsenal has the most among the eight supplied team records, with 9 clean sheets in 17 covered matches. Because 12 additional team rows are not numerically available here, this is not presented as a verified 20-team maximum.
Who were the top scorers in the Premier League for the 2025-26 season?
That cannot be identified from these figures. The comparison reports team goals for, but no player scoring totals.
Who has the most clean sheets in the Premier League table?
Among the teams shown, Arsenal leads with 9, followed by Manchester City with 8 and Sunderland with 6. The full 20-team table cannot be ranked from the available rows.
Which goalkeeper has the most clean sheets in the Premier League?
The supplied information does not include goalkeeper-level totals, so no goalkeeper can be identified.
Does the highest clean-sheet rate guarantee a higher final position?
No. In the available records, Sunderland has the third-highest clean-sheet rate but ranks seventh, while Manchester United ranks third with the lowest listed rate. These observations show that the measures do not form a perfect one-to-one order, but they do not establish causation.