Ipswich Town goalkeeper Christian Walton believes the competition he faces between the sticks can only be a positive thing for their Premier League prospects.
The Tractor Boys emerge from the extended international break 11th in the table with six points on the board, having managed victories over Sunderland on matchday one and Crystal Palace on matchday four.
They now face Fulham in a potentially pivotal clash at Portman Road, with Alvaro Arbeloa's visitors one of three teams yet to taste victory, alongside Tottenham and Coventry City.
Walton is the favourite to start in goal for Gary O'Neil's men on Saturday, having played in their 1-0 defeat to Everton before the international break, before signing a contact extension during the hiatus.
But he has competition. Kjell Scherpen started their first four games after joining from Union Saint-Gilloise, though he made a couple of high-profile mistakes in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, while Kayne van Oevelen also arrived from Volendam in the summer.
But Walton is not worried about the competition he faces, saying it should be no different to any other position on the pitch.
"We've always had a competitive group and the goalkeeping unit is probably the most competitive it has been right now," Walton told the club's website.
"Going into a Premier League season, you need strength in every position, so it was always going to be the case that we would strive for three, four, or five good goalkeepers at the club at a time.
"For me, it's competition and competition is healthy. It helps me improve, and it helps the other goalkeepers improve.
"I want to be a goalkeeper who has played at the highest possible level and that competition helps to push you.
"My goal is to just play as much football as possible for Ipswich Town, but I also want to be good for the squad, a good person at the football club, to help however I can."
While Fulham are yet to win this season, they came mightily close in their final game before the break, conceding a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United.
And Alvaro Arbeloa said after that game that his players were showing clear signs of progress, ahead of a crucial run of fixtures against the three promoted clubs.
"I'm so proud of my players. I know that we have only two points, but in the long term, when you are playing in this way, I think you will get what you deserve," Arbeloa said.
"But we need to continue. We knew that this month was going to be hard against top teams – we had Liverpool away, Sunderland away, Manchester United and Chelsea at home.
"So, I think we are improving game by game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ipswich Town – Leif Davis
Only Bournemouth's Adrien Truffert (17) and Arsenal's Ben White (11) have made more overlapping runs in the Premier League this season than Ipswich left-back Davis (10).
Davis also ranks first among all defenders this season for off-ball runs into the attacking third (52).
Fulham – Josh King
King has been a bright spark during a difficult start to the season for Fulham, and he leads all players in the Premier League for touches in the opposition box (37).
Meanwhile, only Bryan Mbeumo and Julio Enciso (both eight) have recorded more shots following carries this campaign than his six.
MATCH PREDICTION – IPSWICH TOWN WIN
Fulham are winless in all four of their Premier League games against Ipswich (D3 L1), the joint-most times they have faced a side without ever winning in the competition (also four against Watford).
The Tractor Boys could win as many as three of their first six Premier League games in a season for only the second time, after last doing so in 1993-94.
When they were last in the top flight in 2024-25, they needed 19 matches to bring up three victories, going on to be relegated that season.
Fulham (D2 L3) have failed to win their opening five games of a top-flight season for the fourth time, after 1951-52, 2011-12 and 2020-21.
They last failed to win six successive league games in a single campaign during their final 10 matches of 2020-21 (D2 L8), when they suffered the drop.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Ipswich Town – 44.8%
Fulham – 28.3%
Draw – 26.9%