Newcastle have been plagued by injuries this season, and in their last match against Fulham, midfielder Fabian Schuaha and midfielder Zur Linden were injured. However, there is good news for the Magpies, as Dutch midfielder Paul Girardin has finally returned to the side after nearly three months of injury.
The 23-year-old Paul Girvan joined the team from Lille last summer and immediately became the team's mainstay, and was a key figure in Newcastle's top 4 finish in the league last season. Unfortunately, he was injured at the beginning of the season and played the last 6 minutes of the match until he came back last time. According to Sky Sports, Newcastle had a 55% win rate in the 46 matches with Poggiwen, conceding an average of 0.8 goals in 90 minutes, but in the 23 matches where Poggiwen was absent, the win rate plummeted to 43%, and the average goals conceded in 90 minutes increased to 1.2 goals, which proves the importance of Poggiwen.
