Newcastle, like many of their fellow Premier League counterparts, have had an inconsistent Premier League campaign thus far.
They find themselves placed in ninth position and have only won two of their last five top-flight games. In addition, despite playing 12 games fewer than last season, they now have more than double their losses from the previous term.
The Magpies have had their fair share of injuries across the season, however, they should have more than enough depth within their squad to be performing better than they have been lately.
One area of their season which has gone well for them is that of England's domestic competitions. Howe's men found themselves in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup and narrowly missed out on advancing to the semi-finals after losing on penalties to eventual finalists, Chelsea.
Up until this point in the campaign, Newcastle's FA Cup run has also gone quite smoothly.
They find themselves in the fifth round of the world's oldest cup competition after triumphing over teams such as their arch-rivals, Sunderland and then, in the fourth round, Fulham.
Their fifth-round tie will take place today, and they are set to face Championship side, Blackburn Rovers.
The Rovers will go into the game with some confidence as the Magpies are coming off of their worst loss of the term, which came at the hands of Arsenal.
The 4-1 defeat was one of the worst outings seen under Howe's tenure as manager and many of their players didn't turn up. However, there was one man specifically who had quite the unforgivable game.
Sven Botman's outing vs Arsenal in numbers
Since joining the Tyneside club in June 2022 for a fee worth around the £31.8m mark, the Netherlands international has been fairly consistent.
The 24-year-old has played a total of 63 times in the two years he has represented the black and white of Newcastle and has more or less cemented his place in Howe's starting XI.
However, his most recent outing against the Gunners left a lot to be desired, with Magpies legend, Alan Shearer, even claiming it was the defender's "worst game in a Newcastle shirt."
This bold statement is further backed up by Sofascore, who gave the defender a dismal match rating of 5.6, the lowest of any player on the pitch.
However, in general, ratings can't always be taken as a 100% accurate representation of how a player has played, but, statistics can.
Minutes played
73
Touches
83
Accurate passes
61/71 (86%)
Clearances
7
Tackles
2
Duels won
3/4
Possession lost
10x
Own goals
1
Despite winning 75% of the duels he contested, the 6 foot 4 centre-back managed to lose possession a total of ten times – a dismal tally for a ball-playing centre-back – and even scored an own goal. This poor performance resulted in him being taken off the pitch in the 73rd minute.
When compared to Gabriel Magalhaes of Arsenal, it shows that the pair performed at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Brazil international also won 75% of his duels, however, he only lost possession eight times and managed to refrain from making any errors.
The player to replace Botman
Newcastle have sustained an abundance of injuries across the season thus far. This evidently cuts down the options they have to replace their usual stalwart.
However, club captain, Jamaal Lascelles will be at Howe's disposal for their upcoming clash against Blackburn if he chooses to deploy him.
Lascelles has been with the club since 2014 when he and Karl Darlow were both purchased by Newcastle from Nottingham Forest.
Since then, the now 30-year-old has cemented himself as a regular first-team player. He has played a total of 248 times for the Magpies during his almost ten-year tenure, even partaking in 15 top-flight games this season.
Botman might be the better defender overall, but in order to establish some confidence in the youngster, a brief spell on the sidelines and away from the limelight for a game could be what he needs.
Lascelles is the obvious option to replace him as he can fit into Howe's system perfectly and his leadership will likely help him guide his team to the next round of this year's edition of the FA Cup.
