Nick Pope could make Newcastle United history against Chelsea this weekend as the club look to win five consecutive home games in the top flight while keeping a clean sheet for the first time since 1907.
Newcastle’s away form has struggled this season, but their home form continues to be one of the best in the Premier League and now no team looks forward to a trip to St James’ Park.
The BBC recently revealed that Pope is on the verge of making history at Newcastle and could play a crucial role in helping them win five consecutive league home games.
Newcastle’s impressive home form
Newcastle have a great record at St James’ Park during this campaign, though it should be even better. The one Premier League defeat that they suffered was to 10-man Liverpool earlier in the year after being 1-0 up in the first-half, one which will stick in the mind of every Newcastle fan for some time.
They have, of course, won every other league game in the North East which is still an impressive feat in itself, and Eddie Howe will want to continue that record after a disappointing defeat to Bournemouth.
In the last four home games, Newcastle have recorded victories against Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Brentford all while keeping a clean sheet.
Nick Pope may not have had too much to do in those fixtures, but he will need to be on his best form for Newcastle for the visit of Chelsea who are on a high after scoring eight goals against Manchester City and Tottenham in their last two games.
Nick Pope’s record for Newcastle
For £10m, Pope was an astute signing for Newcastle last summer and has continued to be one of the best shot-stoppers in the Premier League, though many would argue it is his ability on the ball that lets him down.
Regardless, the 31-year-old remains a quality keeper and has still recorded the fifth-best save percentage and the second-highest clean sheet percentage this season.
Though he may have the odd mistake in him, Pope now has the opportunity to etch his name into Newcastle history against Chelsea and can hopefully recapture the impressive form he was showing last season that was so important to securing a Champions League place.
There have already been calls to replace the former Burnley man in the summer, though it’s likely Eddie Howe has bigger priorities to improve in before he looks to upgrade between the sticks.
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