Newcastle United predicted starting XI v Nottingham Forest: Four changes as Sandro Tonali decision made

The Magpies head to the City Ground having collected four points from their opening two Premier League matches, beating Southampton with 10 men before drawing 1-1 at AFC Bournemouth on Sunday.

“We’ll try and play a really strong team, we want to progress,” said Howe. “We will make changes as well at the same time because the squad enables me to do so while not weakening the quality.

“You saw the strength of our bench on Sunday which made a huge difference. There are a lot of players eager to show what they can do, and it’s an ideal opportunity to do that.” United have reached the final and the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup in the past two seasons. The competition, on paper, is viewed as the club’s best chance of ending their long trophy drought, though Forest is no easy challenge. They too have started the season with four points.

Howe said: “We’re determined to try and do well, I think we’ve had that focus every since I've been here to try and do well in every competition, and this one has been good for us.

“Last year we were incredibly close to another semi-final and that was a bit of a low point in our season really because we were so close. We’ve got good memories of the competition and we want to do well.”

A huge decision Howe has to make is whether or not to start Sandro Tonali. The Italian’s 10-month ban has now expired.

“There’s temptation to do anything we want with him,” said Howe. “He’s done the work and I feel confident if we were to start him he would be fit enough to play. I’ll have to make that decision

“The microscope is on everybody and it will be on Sandro for a period of time, we understand that and he does. It's small steps. For us, we just expect him to be himself and play his game. He’s a very intelligent footballer, a very good technician and he has to play to his strengths and not try and do anything out of the ordinary. That will be hugely effective for us.”

Here’s how Newcastle are predicted to line-up against Nottingham Forest: