The Magpies head into their final three games of the season knowing they will be all but assured of a place in next season’s Champions League if they win their remaining two home matches against Chelsea and Everton.
Sunday’s opponents head to Tyneside on a high after securing a place in the UEFA Conference League final and beating Liverpool to move level on points with Newcastle in the table.
Howe admits he is not yet certain who will be available to start Sunday’s game, although he was understandably reluctant to expand on who has been struggling this week.
Fabian Schar was forced off in the closing stages of last weekend’s draw at Brighton with what appeared to be a muscular issue, while Kieran Trippier also appeared to be struggling towards the end of the second half at the Amex Stadium.
“We’ve got a couple of players we’re looking at and assessing, and we’ll have to see how they are at the weekend,” confirmed Howe. “But apart from that, we’re okay.
“We’ve trained well this week, and I’ve been pleased with the group. We’re very focused on our next match.”
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Joelinton has returned to Tyneside after receiving treatment on his knee injury in both Brazil and Barcelona.
The midfielder has had an injection to assist his recovery, and while he will not be involved in Chelsea, Howe has not completely ruled him out of featuring in Newcastle’s final two games against Arsenal and Everton.
“I saw Joe yesterday for the first time in a while because he’d been away getting treatment,” said the Newcastle boss. “He returned to Brazil briefly, but he’s been back in Barcelona for another injection and I think he’s feeling pretty good. Whether we see him before the end of the season though, I’m not sure.”
Chelsea booked their place in the Conference League final when they beat Djurgarden at Stamford Bridge last night to secure a 5-1 aggregate win.
As has been the case all season, Enzo Maresca made a host of changes for his side’s European game, but Howe fully expects the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson to return to Chelsea’s starting line-up at the weekend.
“We expect them to revert to pretty much the side for their last league game, which was an impressive win against Liverpool,” he said. “They’ve performed pretty well of late. They’ve got a lot of confidence and attacking players back in form.”