Howe eyes win at the Cottage to round off productive week for Magpies

The Magpies head to Craven Cottage - a ground where they have already won 2-0 this term, in January's FA Cup second round tie - looking for the win which would further boost their hopes of qualifying for Europe for a second successive season.

Howe's charges drew at home to Everton on Tuesday night, and beat West Ham 4-3 three days previously after a thrilling late comeback at St. James' Park.

And despite being pegged back late on by the Toffees in midweek, Howe feels a win in the capital would round off a decent seven days for Newcastle, who could move up to seventh in the Premier League table with a victory.

The United head coach spoke to the media at the club's training centre in Benton ahead of the trip to the capital. Here are some of the topics that were up for discussion on Friday morning:

On whether seven points from their three games this week would represent a reasonable return...

"I think four points from two games is a decent return - we wanted six, we got four. Now Fulham's a very difficult game in isolation. They're very good at Craven Cottage, their record this year is very strong. I think that point looks different if you're able to win your next game, so that's what we're aiming to do."

On in-form form frontman Alexander Isak, who has been nominated for the Premier League's EA Sports Player of the Month award having already been named Sela Player of the Month for March...

"I think it gives us a massive lift - if you've got any of your attacking players in the form he's in, I think it transforms through the team. Alex is in a really good place mentally and physically. It's great to see him in the type of form he is.

"He could have scored more on Tuesday - the team is giving him a good platform to showcase his talent - but he deserves a lot of credit for how he's played this year. I think he's an exceptional talent and I hope he can get even better from this point.

"I think there's even more to come from him. But he's certainly looking confident."

On former Fulham defender Dan Burn's fine showing on Tuesday night...

"I liked a lot about his performance against Everton - I thought he was very very good. Of course aerially, it goes without saying, he's a big presence in our backline anyway, but I thought aerially he did really well against two tough opponents against Everton. But on the floor, I think having played full back for a long period of time, naturally, when you come inside, the spaces are a bit more condensed, so I think Dan really did excel in that area.

"Also Dan's leadership is second to none - I think when he comes more central, he can help the team vocally as well."

On the anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered by captain Jamaal Lascelles against the Hammers last weekend...

"It's a big blow for us and of course for Jamaal. He's been excellent this season. Behind the scenes, he's been a key part of our leadership team. His standards on the training ground every day have been exceptional. It will be a big blow for us to lose him.

"I feel for him, because he's been in really good physical shape this year - he's looked really good. It was just one of those things - he's come together with Michail Antonio, I think he's taken a bit of his weight through the force of the tackle, and unfortunately he's ended up with a serious injury."

On the fitness of Tino Livramento and Miguel Almirón...

"Tino's was quite obvious really when you look back at the footage. It's quite strange, really, when you see the ball just hit his ankle before he goes to plant it on the floor and it's twisted it to quite an uncomfortable angle. You can see from that that it looked quite painful. Thankfully it's not as serious as it could have been, and we anticipate he could be back quite quickly.

"Miggy, I think on crossing the ball he got his studs caught in the turf and just tweaked his knee slightly. Again, not a serious injury, but enough to keep him out for a few days."

On Lewis Hall's availability...

"We hope he's fine and will be back training today. We anticipate he will be part of that group."

On forward Callum Wilson's ongoing rehabilitation...

"He's looking good. He's doing the hard yards, running hard. Of course it's an upper limb injury so he's able to keep very fit and really look after his legs and build his strength. I anticipate when he comes back he'll be looking very good."