Who will cover the goalkeeper position for Newcastle United? Nick Pope, the goalkeeper for Newcastle United, will miss the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United after receiving a red card against Liverpool on Saturday in the Premier League (February 18). After handling the ball outside of his box, the England goalie received the boot.
Through the early goals of Darwin Nunez (10′) and Cody Gakpo (17′), Liverpool built a 2-0 lead. Before the game, the Magpies had only given up 14 goals in the league, with Pope playing a key role in the goal.
In the 22nd minute, the former Burnley goalkeeper, though, had a moment of insanity as he sprinted out of goal to stop Mohamed Salah from scoring. Referee Andre Marriner had to dismiss him because he handled the ball.
Hence, Pope will no longer be allowed to go with Newcastle to Wembley for Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final against Manchester United (February 26). In 27 appearances across competitions this season, he has maintained an incredible 16 clean sheets, so his absence will be devastating.
Eddie Howe’s team won’t be able to use backup keeper Martin Dubravka either, adding to their anguish. The Slovakian played for the Red Devils in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season while on loan at Old Trafford. Thus, the seasoned shot-stopper won’t be able to play because of a cup tie. If Manchester United defeats the Magpies, he will be awarded a winner’s medal.
As a result, Howe will probably need to use Loris Karius, a former Liverpool goalie. After being released by the Reds, the German signed with the Magpies as a free agent. Since his arrival in September, he has not yet appeared at Saint James’ Park.
After his notorious performance in the 2018 UEFA Champions League final, Karius is not a name that Newcastle fans will be excited to hear. He had a terrible night in Kyiv, allowing Real Madrid to score twice when the Merseysiders fell short 3-1.
Due to the grueling nature of their schedule, they still have Leicester City to play on Sunday (February 19). The second leg of their UEFA Europa League knockout playoff will then take place at home against Barcelona on Thursday (February 23). After the encounter against Liverpool, Howe’s team doesn’t play again until the championship game on Sunday.
After his team defeated Nottingham Forest 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinals to get to the final, Red Devils manager Ten Hag commented on that. It is clear that Newcastle United has an advantage (in terms of the number of games remaining before the Carabao Cup final), but the Dutchman insisted that attitude and mentality are more important. I know how to manage it because I’ve done it before when I was at Ajax and played in a cup game after we played in Europe.
Since their victory in the 2017 UEFA Europa League, Manchester United has not received any awards. The Magpies, meanwhile, took home the EFL Championship in 2016. For the last time the Tyneside team won a significant trophy, the FA Cup, you must go back to 1955.
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