At the other end of the field, a skilled goalie can ultimately decide a game, even though championship forwards may receive all the attention for their goal-scoring exploits.

One big save can earn points, but not all Championship goalies are playing at the level they may be able to in the 2026–27 season thus far.

Kevin Phillips lists the best three goalkeepers in the Championship.

Kevin Phillips, a former Premier League striker who is now a manager and pundit, has listed his top three second-tier stoppers. Given their calibre, some of them might not come as a surprise.According to Phillips, who spoke exclusively to Football League World via BestBettingSites.co.uk, “That’s an interesting one because you could clearly just go with the three that are at the top of the league.”However, if you dig a little further, I’m going to choose the teams that, in my opinion,

have given up the fewest goals.Daniel Peretz, the goalie for Southampton, has been outstanding, in my opinion, given their current situation, the season they’ve had, and the points they’ve lost. He was outstanding for them in this season and the previous one. He’s inside, then.Next is Pierce Charles of QPR,

who has let up 12 goals. Excellent goalie, very confident. Thus, those two enter at this exact moment.James Beadle will then be placed in Birmingham. Again, just 12 goals were given up. He made a couple blunders last season, but he appears more confident this year.According to their current performance, those three have given up the fewest goals.

Birmingham City now has an additional promotion advantage thanks to James Beadle’s development.

It’s difficult to avoid ranking Peretz among the best three goalkeepers in the division given how revolutionary he has been since joining Southampton in January. As a Saints player, he only suffered one league loss in the previous season, and he has only experienced two losses in 2026–2027.

After leaving Sheffield Wednesday for QPR and returning permanently to Man City, Pierce Charles has raised the bar once more. His performance against West Ham at the London Stadium will be remembered for a long time, particularly his double stop from a penalty kick.

James Beadle was included by Phillips, which may come as a surprise considering that he had a mixed season with Birmingham City in 2025–2026 and made a number of mistakes.

The gigantic 6′ 7″ stopper was brought back to St. Andrew’s on a second loan agreement for this season by Chris Davies, who clearly still saw something in him. His stats have also improved.

Beadle is currently ranked second for clean sheets, sixth for save percentage, and third for goals prevented, indicating that he’s doing something right. A stable back four in front of him also helps, but he’s become a more reliable goalkeeper, with the exception of one that let Middlesbrough score late against Blues earlier in the season.

Kevin Phillips’ best goalkeepers conspicuously lack a West Brom star.

A few other Championship goalkeepers might be disappointed that they weren’t included in Phillips’ top three, but Max O’Leary is arguably the most overlooked.

After losing his starting position to Radek Vitek, a Man United loanee, at Bristol City the previous season, O’Leary made the decision to leave the Robins after 20 years and join West Brom, where he was made the team’s first-choice stopper right away.

Early in the 2026–2027 season, O’Leary has truly shown promise. His best performance came in the Baggies’ 1-0 loss to Wolves, where he made several stops to limit the damage.

O’Leary is having the season of his life thus far and is undoubtedly among the top three in the Championship right now. He leads the goals prevented statistic at 5.9 and has made more stops in the six-yard box than any other stopper in the division.