Eddie Howe will be hoping to equal a 20-year streak when Newcastle United play host to West Ham United on Saturday.

The Magpies are enjoying their best top-flight campaign in recent memory, only losing one of their opening 20 matches to occupy third place in the Premier League standings.

Holding a three-point lead over fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur having played a game fewer, Howe's target is achieving Champions League football for 2023-24.

Newcastle also find themselves in the final of the EFL Cup after progressing past Southampton, the second leg on Tuesday night finishing 2-1 in the North East outfit's favour.

Che Adams's long-range strike, albeit a consolation, ended Nick Pope's run of clean sheets, which had lasted since November 6 and a total of 10 matches.

Nevertheless, Newcastle still possess an impressive number of shutouts in the league, that current streak standing at six games.

Should Pope and his defence manage to keep West Ham at bay at St James' Park this weekend, it will see Howe equal a streak which has lasted for two decades.

Not since a Middlesbrough side under the guidance of Steve McClaren in 2003 has an English manager been in charge of a top-flight side which has kept seven clean sheets in a row.

However, Newcastle will not want to break a club record to do so, with Newcastle currently sitting on six clean sheets for the season, their equal-most in the division.

Another record in their sights is avoiding conceding a goal in the first half of games, Newcastle having gone 16 consecutive league matches since shipping before the break.

The last time a team netted versus Newcastle during the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League encounter was on August 28 when Ruben Neves's strike put Wolverhampton Wanderers ahead in their showdown at Molineux. body check tags ::