Darren Randolph put in an impressive performance for the Republic of Ireland in a losing cause last night, as Mick McCarthy's side slipped to a 2-0 loss against Switzerland in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.
Randolph made some key stops for McCarthy's men–most notably denying Ricardo Rodriguez from the penalty spot and keeping Haris Seferovic's effort out–but Ireland were unable to capitalise on chances of their own and suffered a defeat that leaves them needing to beat Denmark to secure automatic qualification to next summer's tournament.
The Middlesbrough man appears his nation's first-choice as things stand, with Burton Albion's Kieran O'Hara the other keeper included in the squad, but should Sheffield Wednesday's Keiren Westwood feel hard done by that he isn't wearing the Ireland number one jersey?
The 34-year-old was omitted from the squad for the most recent round of internationals but has helped the Owls climb to eighth in the table this season.
In today's FLW duel we examine the form of Randolph and Westwood in the 2019/20 Championship campaign to see who should be their nation's number one.
The two keepers represent teams with opposite fortunes this season. Westwood's Wednesday are in impressive form under new boss Garry Monk and sit just one point outside the play-offs, while 12 places and nine points lower down the table Randolph's Boro have struggled under Jonathan Woodgate, who took over in the summer.
Both have been mainstays in their respective starting XIs this season, other than the one game the Owls number one missed due to suspension.
As to be expected given the way the two sides have fared, Randolph has conceded significantly more goals than Westwood this season.
However, what is interesting to note is that the Randolph is underperforming in comparison to his expected conceded goals (xCG) of 14.36, while the omitted Westwood is overperforming in comparison to his xCG of 9.45.
Unsurprisingly, Randolph has had significantly more shots against him this season (47 v 35) and has averaged more saves per game–2.59 to his countryman's 2.26.
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An area that Boro have struggled with this season is crosses, having conceded 11 of their 16 goals from crosses and corners, according to Wyscout, but Randolph has averaged a significantly lower number of exits per game in comparison to Westwood, which suggests that may be an area of weakness for the Boro shot-stopper.
What he lacks in that department, Randolph makes up for in his distribution. The Boro number one averages 8.45 ball distributions per game, in comparison to Westwood's 7.39 and has a 9.5% higher long pass accuracy.
The two players' statistics from this season are relatively similar with Westwood putting in a slightly more impressive showing, if anything. That is to be expected given the way Boro and Wednesday have fared this season but the Owls keeper's omission from the squad completely looks a bit harsh.
After a heroic performance earlier in the week it is difficult to see Randolph losing the number one shirt anytime soon but Westwood will likely feel if he keeps helping Monk's side climb the table he will get his chance.