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Howe 'may freshen things up' as Magpies eye fab four
Written by Luke Vinton
Eddie Howe hinted he could make changes ahead of Newcastle United's trip to Norwich City on Saturday, with the Magpies targeting four successive Premier League wins for the first time since April 2018.
Newcastle travel to East Anglia to face Dean Smith's Canaries at Carrow Road after securing a sixth consecutive home win in a row following Wednesday's 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace.
Ahead of a third match in the space of six days, Howe - who named an unchanged starting XI against the Eagles - admitted he could rotate his squad as United bid to extend their gap from the relegation zone to 15 points as well as assessing Ryan Fraser's injury status.
"We may freshen things up," the 44-year-old said. We'll have a look at it on an individual basis but we want players that are 100 per cent fit and ready to give their best again physically.
"Norwich haven't play midweek and we've had a big physical cost, especially the manner of the two games and the effort it took, with the long spells of possession in the second half of both games (against Leicester City and Crystal Palace), so we need to be ready for a tough game."
"Ryan (Fraser) has had his second scan and there's relatively good news in that there's no massive problem for him but he's in race against time to get fit before the end of the season."
Norwich are currently situated at the foot of the Premier League table on 21 points, 19 adrift of Newcastle, but Howe believes the Canaries, targeting back-to-back home wins, can pose a significant threat to his side.
The two sides last met in November during a 1-1 draw at St. James' Park as Teemu Pukki's strike cancelled out Callum Wilson's penalty for the hosts, who played the majority of the league encounter with ten men following Ciaran Clark's red card.
He added: "If you look back at their last two fixtures, going to Old Trafford and playing very well with an attacking style, they were really unfortunate not to get anything from that game and then they were excellent against Burnley.
"It seemed like that was an intense game and the crowd are always behind their team. We have to prepared for that and have to be mentally right after last week.
"At the time, it (the reverse fixture) felt like a missed opportunity for us to try and get our first win but the players did respond brilliantly. We took the lead and I was disappointed we couldn't hold the lead because the players gave everything.
"Maybe that was the first sign of things to come on a consistent basis in terms of effort, commitment and putting their bodies on the line for the team."
Sitting one point adrift of ninth-placed Leicester in the table, it has been a remarkable turnaround for Newcastle since Howe's arrival at the club.
The Amersham-born coach admitted he has been surprised at how quickly the Magpies have risen up the league ladders but is adamant in continuing their positive form for the remainder of the season.
"In terms of the position we're in, I don't think we necessarily thought we would've been where we are now," he said. "I believed in the team, the players and our way of working.
"I was always positive and felt we could achieve safety but I think the run of results we have been on has maybe been quicker than expected.
"We have a way of playing that has delivered consistent performances. We don't want to let those standards drop and let that feeling go. Not for one second will our preparation drop and our expectations of the players wont drop."
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