Touré seeking 'reaction' against Fulham

The young Magpies host the Cottagers at St. James' Park as Chris Hogg's side looking to respond from a 4-0 Tyne-Wear derby defeat against Sunderland a fortnight ago and will be joined by Paul Dummett, Ciaran Clark and Matty Longstaff, all of whom are set to feature in the Division Two clash as they recover from respective injuries. 

Touré, who joined United from Swiss outfit Young Boys in the summer of 2018, has fond memories of facing the Whites after registering a goal and assist in a 3-0 triumph last term and is targeting his first goal of the 2020/21 campaign.

"I think it's a very important game for the whole team," Touré told nufc.co.uk. "We need a reaction after the 4-0 loss against Sunderland and every game is important so we'll have to do everything to make sure we win the game.

"We played against them twice last season and they are a good team. I think we are ready to play against them and try to get a positive result. If we look back at past results, that should give us some confidence heading into the game.

"I scored against them last season and got an assist so I will do everything to try and score again to help my team get a win."

With the majority of under-23s fixtures played at Benton's Whitley Park, Touré is relishing an opportunity of featuring at St. James' Park and believes it will be a  welcome boost for the young squad.

The striker was part of the under-23 squad which reached the Division Two play-off final two seasons ago and is determined for his side to challenge for promotion once again this term.

The 20-year-old, who has represented Switzerland at under-20 level, added: "In the league, we look good but the defeat against Sunderland was just very bad for us. We've not started very well but good so I hope we can continue to get better.

"I've only realised are going to be playing at St. James' which is a nice surprise. It gives us all more motivation playing at the stadium and we will be aiming to get the win. 

"It's a shame we won't have the fans in the ground for the game but it's still nice to be in the stadium and we will be ready. It's a fantastic place to play football.

"I scored the last time we played there, against Sunderland, which was a great feeling. Obviously, we had the fans which made it extra special. I hope to score again against Fulham.

"Every season, we want to be challenging towards the top and it's important to try and get into the play-off spots. We'll do everything we possibly can to get there."