Newcastle United are in Paris for their Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain tomorrow night.
Eddie Howe has faced the media this afternoon ahead of the game and confirmed that there are no new injury concerns going into the match, but the UEFA rules on player eligibility mean that he has an even smaller pool of players to choose from than he would for a Premier League game.
Alongside Howe at the press conference was goalkeeper Nick Pope who came in for some praise from the gaffer.
Howe spoke of how important the stopper is to the side making a special mention of his superb one-handed save against Chelsea on Saturday (via The Chronicle).
"He's been huge for us. He's brought a confidence to the back line. We're lucky to have some good goalkeepers at the club. The save he made at Chelsea was outstanding. Those key moments, big saves, they're the things that elevate us as a team. He's a calm character and very popular in the dressing room."
Howe was then asked what he thought about Pope's absence from the last couple of England squads.
"I can never put myself in Gareth's shoes so I will never critique his decisions. He knows all about Nick and his qualities."
To be fair, someone should critique Gareth Southgate's decisions because some of them are downright awful.
If Pope can be at his best tomorrow night then Kylian Mbappe could be in for another tough night against the Mighty Mags.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
14 | 18 | 35 |
2 |
Chelsea
|
15 | 17 | 31 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
15 | 14 | 29 |
4 |
Manchester City
|
15 | 6 | 27 |
5 |
Nottingham Forest
|
15 | 1 | 25 |
6 |
Aston Villa
|
15 | 0 | 25 |
7 |
Brighton
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
8 |
Bournemouth
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
9 |
Brentford
|
15 | 3 | 23 |
10 |
Fulham
|
15 | 2 | 23 |
11 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
15 | 12 | 20 |
12 |
Newcastle United
|
15 | -2 | 20 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
15 | 1 | 19 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
14 | -9 | 15 |
15 |
Everton
|
14 | -7 | 14 |
16 |
Leicester
|
15 | -9 | 14 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
15 | -6 | 13 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
15 | -13 | 9 |
19 |
Wolves
|
14 | -14 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
15 | -20 | 5 |