Newcastle United are heading to Southampton for a 3pm Saturday kick-off where they'll be hoping to put last week's devastating defeat firmly in their rearview mirror.
We said last week 'If it ain't broke don't fix it' would be the way to go with the team selection, and it seemed that was the same thinking by Eddie Howe too, but our players looked dead on their feet against Bournemouth, so it perhaps wasn't the best idea in the end.
However, the players have had a few days off and time to train this week, so should be in much better condition than last week.
Still, Eddie Howe may look to make a change or two just to keep things fresh and he definitely has one big call to make in terms of who starts between the sticks.
Eddie Howe confirmed in his press conference this morning (via The Chronicle) that Nick Pope is back in training and is in contention to be involved on Saturday.
"There's a chance he'll be in the squad. He's started training with the group again and it's great to see Nick back and his presence, the positivity that he brings. I've seen him do some really good things this week, so yeah, delighted to have him back in the mix."
Howe is downplaying Pope's readiness, but we've seen that trick before.
The big question is, though, does Pope automatically get his spot back after Martin Dubravka has done so well in his absence?
It would probably be a foregone conclusion normally, but given how Howe has had to beg Dubravka to stay at the club this month, it would be a bit harsh to get him to turn down a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia only to be dropped a week later.
Both keepers bring something different to the mix and both have massive flaws. Together they'd make the perfect 'keeper. Where's a mad scientist when you need one?
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
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23 | 35 | 56 |
2 |
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24 | 27 | 50 |
3 |
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24 | 13 | 47 |
4 |
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24 | 16 | 43 |
5 |
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24 | 13 | 41 |
6 |
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24 | 13 | 41 |
7 |
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24 | 13 | 40 |
8 |
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24 | -3 | 37 |
9 |
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24 | 4 | 36 |
10 |
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24 | -3 | 34 |
11 |
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24 | 0 | 31 |
12 |
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24 | -2 | 30 |
13 |
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24 | -6 | 29 |
14 |
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24 | 11 | 27 |
15 |
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24 | -17 | 27 |
16 |
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23 | -5 | 26 |
17 |
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24 | -18 | 19 |
18 |
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24 | -28 | 17 |
19 |
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24 | -27 | 16 |
20 |
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24 | -36 | 9 |