Newcastle United have only once in the last 20 years have the Magpies had more points on the board at the 11-game stage than they do at the moment.
The 18-point tally beats every season since 2002/03 apart from Alan Pardew's superb effort of 25 points back in 2011/12. That was the year that Newcastle finished in fifth spot and qualified for Europe.
Incredibly, it took until the 22-game mark to reach 18 points last season but this term Eddie Howe and his players have done it half the time. And they have done it with the best defensive record in the division with just nine goals conceded and Nick Pope now level with Man City star Ederson on clean sheets.
