Back-to-back games against top two a big challenge for us - Howe

boss Eddie Howe has expressed hope that his players will be able to cope with two consecutive major games against

and

.

Newcastle had just 26 percent of the ball in a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Thursday and are expected to have even lower numbers against Manchester City at St James' Park. Now Howe claims that there is an important challenge for his players to be able to cope themselves with these two important matches.

“I think the challenge we face with these two games, the reality is we are going to be without the ball for a long time and the physical effort of the players is really tested,”

he said.

“We lost Jamal early in the match against Liverpool and a lot of the other players we had on the pitch were suffering with fatigue.

“It is a unique challenge for us with these two games back-to-back but the fact we are at home with the crowd behind us will hopefully inspire. We are going to obviously need to rotate the team and make sure the team that takes the pitch is as fresh as it can be.”

Howe also asked his players to have the same mentality as in the previous match against Liverpool in their next match. He added:

 “I thought there were elements of the Liverpool performance which were very good.

“Now we are going to need the same mentality first and foremost in preparation for the game.

“The players will have to commit to what we ask them to do.”

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