Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has warned his team to expect a "red hot" atmosphere when they visit the City Ground for Friday night’s encounter with Nottingham Forest.
The Magpies make the journey down to Nottingham for what will be the first Premier League game of the weekend. It means that the Reds could potentially put pressure on their relegation rivals by picking up points ahead of Saturday’s games.
Forest currently sit in 14th place in the league, with just two points separating them and the bottom three. The Reds are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-1 loss against Tottenham in their last outing.
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A cause for optimism for the Reds in the fight for survival is their home form, with Steve Cooper ’s men picking up most of their points this season in front of their home fans. It’s something Howe has pointed to ahead of what could be a memorable night at the City Ground.
“I think they’re unbeaten there in nine games, and that includes tough games, they drew with Manchester City recently,” the Newcastle boss said ahead of the game.
“It’s a really tough place to go, the atmosphere will be red hot naturally because it’s a Friday night game.
“We’re looking forward to it but we can’t underestimate the challenge there. It’s going be difficult, we’ll have to be at our best.”
Like Forest, the game could also be crucial for Newcastle, as they hope to finish the season in a Champions League position. The Magpies are currently fifth in the table, four points behind Tottenham, but do have two games in hand over their rivals.
The game could see Forest’s January signing Jonjo Shelvey line up against his former club for the first time. However, striker Chris Wood is unavailable against his parent club, although the striker is also ruled out with injury.
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