Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa means that it is now just one clean sheet in 10 matches for Newcastle United.
The Magpies were the division’s leading side for shut-outs before Gameweek 22 but have since been overtaken by Manchester United, although Eddie Howe’s troops have still conceded fewer goals than any other Premier League team.
Most active Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers will count Kieran Trippier (£6.2m) amongst their number, while many of us own a second (or third!) representative of the Newcastle backline, too.
With that in mind, we thought it would be worth a deeper look at the Magpies’ defence to see if there is any cause for concern.
GAMEWEEKS 22-24: EYES OFF THE BALL?
Newcastle embarked on a winless run ahead of their EFL Cup final appearance in late February, conceding goals to struggling Bournemouth and West Ham United before their 10 men were defeated by Liverpool.
They were bossed by the Cherries and the Hammers during periods of those games, while the Reds were 2-0 up even before Nick Pope (£5.4m) saw red.
Eddie Howe denied it at the time but since that trip to Wembley, the Magpies’ head coach has admitted that the mid-season prospect of silverware was a distraction.
“The cup final, as much as we didn’t want it to be, was a big distraction for us.
“Not so much for me because I’m preparing for a game – all games you prepare for are very similar processes.
“But for the players, I’m sure their lives, their families, every time they went outside the door it was hitting them in the face that it the cup final was the focus. That can’t help but just interfere with your normal train of thought.
“That’s gone now and we’re back to our league form and we want to attack everything and finish as high as we can.” – Eddie Howe, speaking in early March
| Match | Score (Newcastle first) | Big chances conceded | Expected goals conceded (xGC) | Non-penalty expected goals conceded (NPxGC) | |
| Gameweek 22 | West Ham (h) | 1-1 | 2 | 1.01 | 1.01 |
| Gameweek 23 | Bournemouth (a) | 1-1 | 2 | 1.56 | 1.56 |
| Gameweek 24 | Liverpool (h) | 0-2 | 5 | 1.87 | 1.87 |
GAMEWEEKS 26-30: INDIVIDUAL ERRORS
