The Magpies make the trip to the capital aiming to leapfrog Manchester United into third place, who face an away clash at Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, and will be aiming to extend their unbeaten English top-flight run to a club record 15 matches.

Newcastle face an Eagles side, currently occupying 12th place, who narrowly avoided a fourth successive defeat across all competitions on Wednesday night as Michael Olise's stoppage-time free-kick secured a 1-1 draw against Erik ten Hag's Red Devils.

It will be a case of third time lucky for Eddie Howe's side in their bid to claim maximum points against Palace as the South London outfit held the high-flying Magpies to consecutive goalless draws at St. James' Park earlier this term.

Here are the main talking points from the Newcastle boss after speaking to the media at the Magpies' Benton training centre on Friday morning:

On Chris Wood's proposed loan move to Nottingham Forest:

"Chris is having a medical with Nottingham Forest as we speak. He's been a huge player for us. He's been outstanding in every way because when we signed him, we were in a very difficult league position and he played a huge part on the pitch to help transform the team.

"This season, he's been excellent both on and off the pitch in terms of his leadership and positivity even when he's not played so I can't underestimate the role he has played.

"It was a difficult decision because you have to take into account the player and his wishes but, also, I think it's a very good deal, financially, for the football club."

On the injury situation of Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimarães, who was substituted at half-time during the Magpies' 1-0 win against Fulham last weekend due to an ankle injury:

"He was devastated to come off the pitch. I probably think he thought at the time he had serious damage to his ankle. The scan did come back with positive news and hopefully it's not a long-term injury.

"We're still not sure when he's going to be back but he's made good progress this week. We'll have a constant eye on the situation."

On Crystal Palace, managed by Patrick Vieira, who have held the Magpies to back-to-back goalless draws at St. James' Park this season:

"They're a very good team. The two games we've had against them have been very tight although we've probably had the better chances in the first game, the league game, which we didn't take.

"The Carabao Cup could have gone either way so now we travel to their ground and that's always a tough place to go to. It'll be a good atmosphere and we go there in good form but we don't underestimate the challenge.

"Patrick's a very good manager and they have got some very dangerous players."

On the form of Sean Longstaff, who has featured in every competitive fixture for his boyhood club this term, starting 20 of 24 matches:

"Sean's been excellent. He does a lot of work, tireless work, for the team in every phase. We ask a lot of our midfield players, physically, and especially the wide ones. Sean has played that role on the right-hand side very intelligently and he's physically very good, tireless with his energy and defensively very good, improving all aspects of his game.

"I think there's goals in him as well and those will hopefully come in the future but, to this point, he's been a vital cog in our team. When you go back to where Sean was a year ago, there was a lot of uncertainty attached to his future.

"He's Newcastle through and through, desperate to be here but wanting to feel valued and wanted to see a path in his future career. What I did see was someone that was very committed and I believed could have an important part in our future.

"Getting the contract sorted was a really big thing and that show of faith and trust helped him feel closer in the group. This season, he hasn't looked back."

On Alexander Isak, who scored the late winner against Fulham, and the possibility of the Swedish forward featuring in different positions for United:

"(You can) possibly play Alex in a number of positions. He can play as an out-and-out number nine and a second striker like when he came on against Fulham. He can play wide but it wouldn't be his favoured position but he can play there.

"That versatility is one of the things that attracted us to him in the first place. I was really pleased with him last week. He energised the group. He came on and made a big difference to the team and scored the goal, which was a brilliant moment for him and hopefully one that can really kick him on.

"He's trained really well this week. It's a case, for me, to understand his history in terms of the length of time in which he's been out and build his training because he's not really done too much with the team with the amount of games we've had."