Nick Pope MISSES Newcastle's clash with Everton after Champions League howler in Marseille

Nick Pope is not in the Newcastle squad following a poor recent run of form and howler against Marseille, with the stopper injured for his side's clash against Everton. 

The official club X account posted: 'Six changes from Tuesday's game in Marseille as Aaron Ramsdale, Lewis Hall, Lewis Miley, Joelinton, Anthony Elanga and Nick Woltemade all come into the starting XI. Nick Pope misses today's game due to injury.'

Pope's injury is a groin injury picked up in training the day before the game.  

Earlier in the week, talk of Pope had dominated Eddie Howe's press briefing. 

Multiple blunders recently have cost Newcastle, especially away from home. It has led to calls for Aaron Ramsdale to replace him in goal and though shouts grew louder following Pope's mistake in Marseille on Tuesday.

In the midweek Champions League clash, Newcastle were leading 1-0 just after half-time when he rushed from his area and allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to equalise. 

That moment rocked the visitors and Aubameyang scored what proved to be the winner a few minutes later. 

As Daily Mail Sport's Craig Hope wrote this week, Howe would not give a definitive answer either way, but did admit he is giving serious consideration as to who starts on Merseyside.

'All options are on the table for me,' Howe said. 'I need to think long and hard about who I pick. I'll try to do that on merit. I get the luxury of seeing players training every day, including goalkeepers.

'His (Pope's) shot-stopping has been incredible. He delivers so many saves that it's almost expected. The life of a goalkeeper is on a knife-edge. It's been very strong apart from a couple of high-profile moments.

'You don't necessarily naturally think about rotating a goalkeeper, at least in my mind. It's a position of consistency and you want to give the defenders in front of them consistency and understanding. Changing goalkeeper is possible, of course, but doing so is a big thing. Certainly rotating the goalkeeper position is not something I want to do.'

He went on: 'Nick is vastly experienced. He's a very level character. You don't see huge highs or lows, even when he plays really well and makes world class saves, as he does on a regular basis. 

'He's still very calm and relaxed and absorbs it all. We certainly back him, he's made a number of brilliant saves for us this season.' 

But the selection headache has been taken out of Howe's hands for the game against Everton. 

Ramsdale comes in and will look to seize his opportunity with both hands and make it harder for Howe to reinstate Pope as No 1 when he is fit again.