Barcelona netted another victory yesterday in La Liga over UD Almería (1:0), with goalkeeper Víctor Valdés completing another encounter without conceding a goal. In his last 10 games, Valdés has kept a clean sheet in 8. Nonetheless, the Catalans’s number one keeper continues to trail the current leader in the FTBL World Ranking of goalkeepers, Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas, by 11 rating points. Can Valdés manage to close that gap?

That’s unlikely in the near future. For one, Casillas is guaranteed solid bonuses playing for Spain. The Spaniards have conceded just 2 goals so far in World Cup 2010 qualifying, and they are more likely than not to win their next two games against Armenia and Bosnia. Each one of these victories will earn Casillas 17.25 rating points, which means the lead over his rivals will only increase. But after these games, a more interesting fight is likely to ensue, and Valdés might finally get his chance to challenge the leader.

Valdés has an overall FTBL rating of 124.89 points, and he will face a combined plank of 20 rating points in his next two games. He is more than capable of clearing the plank, which suggests his rating is unlikely to fall below its current level.