Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe will put his players through their paces with a training session on the morning of their game against Crystal Palace.
The Magpies host Patrick Vieira’s side on Wednesday night at St James’ Park and confirmed in his pre-match press conference that he’d be getting them out on the pitches early in the morning in order to keep up their sharpness levels.
"We will train in the morning and then the players will go home, have a rest and come to the stadium,” he told reporters on Tuesday. "I really enjoy the night games and I certainly enjoy them here. They give you a slightly different buzz so we're looking forward to it.”
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Howe also said he wasn’t expecting Palace to arrive on Tyneside with any kind of cup hangover after their 2-0 loss at Wembley to Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount both scored for the Blues in the second half to end the Eagles’ FA Cup run at the semi-final stage.
“Crystal Palace have had a very good season,” added Howe. “Obviously they'll be disappointed to go out in the FA Cup semi-final but Patrick Vieira has done an incredible job there and they've had an excellent season so I expect a very tough game."
Newcastle have no fresh injury concerns for the game against Palace, with Ryan Fraser, Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson all still unavailable for the Magpies. Scotland international Fraser sustained a muscle injury in a home win over Wolves recently and requires scans on his hamstring.
Vieira is due to speak to the media on Tuesday afternoon but is not expected to announce any fresh injury concerns within the Eagles’ camp. Both Tyrick Mitchell and Michael Olise featured against Chelsea on Sunday having come through injuries in the build-up to the game.
Both Newcastle and Palace currently sit on 37 points in the Premier League table, with Vieira’s side one step ahead in 13th with a far superior goal difference and a game in hand. Victory for the Eagles would see them jump back into the top half of the table at the expense of rivals Brighton, while a win for Howe and Newcastle would take them to the 40-point mark ahead of their weekend trip to Norwich.
"We know the importance of this week,” said Howe. "Two massive games for us and we're keen to hit that [40-point] mark as quickly as possible. We know nothing is guaranteed in this league so we'd love to finish off this run of home games with another win."
