The Magpies return to Premier League action following last weekend's Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium and target a first competitive win at the Etihad since October 2014 following a 2-0 triumph in the League Cup.

Howe is likely to retain the services of goalkeeper Nick Pope, who served a one-match suspension following his red card against Liverpool a fortnight ago, while Anthony Gordon and Martin Dúbravka could also feature against Pep Guardiola's side, with the pair cup-tied for Sunday's cup final loss against the Red Devils.

Newcastle, four points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with two games in hand over the North London outfit, will be aiming to end a winless run of four Premier League matches as they devote their full attention towards league action.

Howe spoke to the media on Friday morning and here are the main talking points from his pre-match media briefing at Newcastle's Benton training base:

On Bruno Guimarães, who was substituted in the Carabao Cup final after receiving treatment during the tie at Wembley Stadium:

"Bruno is fine. I think he was in a bit of short-term pain but nothing that has impacted his training week.

"Off the top of my head, there are no other injuries."

On facing Manchester City, who have won their last 13 Premier League fixtures against the Magpies at the Etihad Stadium:

"You do (have to be at your best against Man City). It's a difficult run of games for us when you go against Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City but I think in the first two games, although we we haven't got the results we wanted, the performances have been strong.

"There's loads of different ways you can approach a game like Manchester City. We went one way and it was a really brave approach. It was very front foot and it made for a brilliant game between two top teams.

"I don't think our principles ever change. We're going to need to be very good defensively and very good with the ball. We're going to need to pose a threat in the game and I believe we can do that. Certainly, we'll need to get our foundations strong."

Following Sunday's Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium:

"We were bruised on Sunday and Monday but, very quickly for me, it turned to Manchester City and return to work on Monday afternoon.

"The passion and the motivation, I didn't feel, could increase within me but I think it has. We experienced a great occasion to see the Newcastle supporters. The colours, visions and memories that I'll have and take from that.

"The passion and love they showed to the team in all moments will stay with me and I think we want to return that and give them future successes, which burn deep inside of me."

On his aims for the remaining 15 Premier League fixtures of the 2022/23 campaign:

"In the league, we've stalled a little bit in a sense we've missed a couple of games and haven't won the games that we would have wanted to so we need to reignite that.

"The cup final, as much as we didn't want it to be, was a big distraction for us. Not so much for myself because I'm preparing a game and all of them are very similar processes but for the players, everytime they went outside the door, I'm sure it hit them.

"That's gone now and we're back to our league form and we want to attack everything and finish as high as we can."

On Anthony Gordon, who is targeting his first start for Newcastle since arriving from boyhood club Everton in January:

"He's got a big part to play. He's been working hard in the background in-between these games. When he came to us, he was a little bit short of high end fitness. We've done that work with him and he's looked really good, physically very strong.

"I'm really excited about what he can do in the second half of the season."

On the role Alexander Isak could play for United during the remainder of the season after missing a large majority through injury:

"He's a player that's almost a new signing for us because of his injury that he picked up and we missed him in the early part of the season.

"Now, he's come back and he's fit, improving with more training sessions and understanding of what we want from him. He's building his fitness levels as well and still probably not at his optimum but he's getting close to it.

"I love Alex as a lad and as a player. I think he's got so much to give us and I think he'll add a different dimension to our team."