Championship's top goalkeeper: Daniel Peretz shines, but Southampton needs to wake up

Daniel Peretz continues to cement his status as one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship, if not the very best. On Tuesday, the Israeli goalkeeper delivered another strong performance in a 1-1 away draw against West Bromwich, making four saves, two of them in crucial moments of the match. In England, media outlets highlighted Peretz's contribution to securing the point. The GoalPost website awarded him a rating of 7.5, the highest among his team's players, while Flashscore gave him a 7.2 - second only to James Ward-Prowse (7.7).

Sky Sports highlighted the Israeli's save against Jayson Molumby in the first half, when he tipped a long-range shot over the crossbar. Later on, Peretz was called into action again, and in the final minutes produced one of his most important plays of the game, denying Oumar Diakite from close range to secure a point for his side.

In 14 matchdays, Peretz has conceded 14 goals, averaging one goal per game - the second-best figure in the league among all first-choice goalkeepers, trailing only Birmingham's James Beadle (0.96). However, the Israeli leads the entire Championship in save percentage: 62 shots have been faced by him, and he has saved 48 - more than any other goalkeeper in the league - and he ranks first when broken down into a percentage (77.4%).

Speaking of percentages, only two goalkeepers in the Premier League boast a higher figure so far this season: Leeds United's James Trafford (80.5%) and Brighton's Bart Verbruggen (78.8%). Arsenal's David Raya is third with 77.3%. Last season, incidentally, Peretz finished his half-season in the Championship with 76.3% (58 saves from 76 attempts faced).

It is worth pausing for a moment on the number of shots faced - 62, as mentioned - which may point to underlying issues in Southampton’s style of play. Only five goalkeepers have had to deal with more threats, and all of them play for relegation-threatened sides: Preston (bottom of the table), Watford (20th), Derby County (23rd), Lincoln (17th), and Cardiff (18th).

For comparison, league leaders Middlesbrough's goalkeeper, Radek Vitek, has faced 43 threats this season, as has West Ham's goalkeeper Mads Hermansen. Beadle, goalkeeper of second-placed Birmingham, has faced 45 threats, matching Lawrence Vigouroux, goalkeeper of fourth-placed Swansea.

Also in the "goals prevented" metric, which factors in the quality of shots on target versus the number of goals the goalkeeper actually conceded, Peretz is at the top of the Championship. The Israeli ranks third in the league with 3.4 goals prevented above expected, with only O'Leary (6.6) and Beadle (4.1) ahead of him.

After 14 matchdays, Peretz and his teammates are in sixth place in the Championship with 24 points - two behind Birmingham and four behind Middlesbrough, who have a game in hand. The top of the Championship is extremely tight: Only five points separate second place from 11th place.