Pope recently arrived at Newcastle from Burnley for £10million and is expected to provide direct competition for Dubravka, who has been the number one choice at St James’s Park since 2018.
We’ve looked at the stats and will compare the two goalkeepers. But as Pope has played 141 Premier League games to Dubravka’s 127, we will be using stats as a per-game average in an attempt to balance out Pope’s 14 game advantage.
While it can be debated which player is the superior goalkeeper, statistics are not quite as subjective.
And Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe faces a potential selection dilemma between the sticks next season, but which player will get the nod?
9. Headed clearances: Pope
Pope has made 12 headed clearances in the Premier League compared to Dubravka’s five.
10. Distance covered: Dubravka
Dubravka tends to move around the pitch a lot more than Pope and averages a distance of 1.88km per match compared to Pope’s 1.17km Photo: Stu Forster
11. Throw outs: Pope
Pope averages 4.12 throw outs to teammates per game. Dubravka averages 3.51. Photo: George Wood
12. Penalties: Pope
Pope has made two penalty saves during his time in the Premier League, including one at St James’s Park to deny Joselu in 2018. Martin Dubravka has saved just one penalty for Newcastle United though he has faced 11 penalties compared with Pope’s 18. | Getty Images