Perry Groves says that £10m Newcastle player has to be on top form vs PSG tomorrow

Add as preferred source on Google

Former Arsenal man Perry Groves has claimed that Nick Pope will have to be on his best form if Newcastle United are to beat PSG on Tuesday night.

Newcastle sit bottom of Group F in the Champions League and desperately need three points tomorrow night if they are to go through to the knockout rounds.

Perry Groves has been speaking on talkSPORT’s podcast Premier League All Access where he has suggested that Nick Pope’s performance will be key to a potential Newcastle victory against PSG.

Newcastle need three points vs PSG

After getting off to a great start in the group with a point at the San Siro and battering PSG at home 4-1, Newcastle are coming off the back of two successive defeats to Borussia Dortmund and now face elimination from the Champions League.

The Magpies will travel to the Parc des Princes hoping to replicate the same form they showed in the reverse fixture, though this is a much tougher challenge.

Similar to the game against AC Milan, Groves expects Pope to be very busy against PSG and will have to be on top form if Newcastle hope to have any chance of walking away with all three points.

On the Premier League All Access podcast, Groves said: “Nick Pope will have to be in good form and he has been decent to be fair. He’s made big saves when he’s needed to. So, yeah I think they’ve got a decent chance.”

Pope coming under fire

Nick Pope is one of the best shot-stoppers in the Premier League and has been for a while now, but it really does feel like he has no idea how to properly kick a football.

Pope is obviously a very talented goalkeeper and he has played a huge part in Newcastle’s recent success particularly in helping the club get into the Champions League for the first time in two decades.

However, the £10m signing is prone to panicking under pressure and has often made mistakes when trying to play out from the back, leading to a lot of criticism from Newcastle fans.

There have even been suggestions made that if Newcastle want to become a huge European side and fighting for titles every year, then a new, more modern goalkeeper is a must in the next few windows.

For now, Pope’s position is still secure and he is still pulling out some brilliant saves in key games, but it’ll be something for Eddie Howe to think about as he tries to improve this team year on year.