Eddie Howe wants Newcastle United to close the gap between themselves and Manchester City, whom he labels the 'ultimate test.'
City will take on Newcastle on Sunday and will aim to keep their 100 per cent start to the season intact after picking up victories over West Ham and Bournemouth in their opening two fixtures. Pep Guardiola's side have a great recent record against the Magpies and won their two encounters last season 4-0 and 5-0.
However, Howe believes that his side's performances in those games were better than what the scoreline suggests and is hoping to see an improvement when they meet again at St. James' Park. “This is the ultimate test. These games against Man City and Liverpool are the real barometer of our quality," he said.
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“We want to narrow that gap between us and the top teams in the division. Last year, the results (against City) were hard on us. I thought they were tighter than the scoreline suggested. They don’t look great on paper.
“The home game last year, there were bits of our performance that were very, very good. But you need a bit of luck and to be very clinical when your chances come. In the two games, we probably weren’t.”
Howe also revealed that he is sweating on the fitness of Ryan Fraser and Matt Targett for the match. “Ryan (Fraser), we hope, will be fit and available," he added. "He had a back spasm late last week so was unavailable (for Brighton). With Matt (Targett), we’re going to make a very late decision.”
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