Eddie Howe’s recent Newcastle injury claim should scare Southampton | OneFootball

Eddie Howe has made a Newcastle injury claim which should scare Southampton. The English boss has confirmed that Nick Pope is close to fitness.

Next up, Southampton come up against Newcastle United at home in the Premier League. This comes after both sides lost their most recent match in the league.

However, Southampton fans won't like to look at the form beyond the last game. Indeed, the Saints are one of only two teams in the top flight to have lost their last five league games. Only Leicester are in worse form than them currently.

At this stage, relegation seems like a certainty for Southampton. While players like Aaron Ramsdale are nobly continuing to fight for safety, it is likely a lost cause at this stage.

Nevertheless, Southampton should at least seek to go down with a fight. It all begins against Newcastle, with the Magpies having a splendid season so far.

Eddie Howe’s recent Newcastle injury claim should scare Southampton

Eddie Howe recently revealed some exciting Newcastle injury news which Magpies fans will love and Saints fans might not. He claimed that Nick Pope is close to fitness and might be in contention again for this weekend's fixture at St Marys Stadium.

In his own words, Howe said: "Certainly he’s going to be close (for Southampton). He’s not trained with us yet, but he’s certainly building up to that moment. We’re happy with where he is at. Mentally, he’s getting there ready to play.”

As pointed out by Luke Duden on NUFC Blog, Nick Pope potentialy returning to contention is good news for Newcastle. However, it isn't as easy as him simply stepping back into the starting lineup.

Some would argue that Martin Dubravka should keep his spot following his impressive work in the starting lineup. After all, Dubravka is better with the ball at his feet than Pope.

From Southampton's perspective, having two excellent goalkeepers (potentially) in contention is not a good thing at all. After all, scoring goals has been the Saints' weak point so far this season.