Carabao Cup quarter-final of 'huge importance', says Howe | OneFootball

United face the Bees at St. James' Park (kick-off 7:45pm GMT) hoping to gain revenge following their 4-2 Premier League defeat to Thomas Frank's men ten days ago.

And head coach Howe says his team are well aware of the significance of the fixture with a return to a major cup final high on the agenda, with Newcastle having reached the final of the competition in 2023.

Howe has been speaking about the game, as well as providing a fitness and availability update as his squad continue to navigate the festive period. Here are some of the main talking points from his media briefing on Tuesday morning:

On Wednesday's quarter-final...

"Whenever you play Brentford, home or away, it will be a difficult game. It is the attitude ultimately - we need to show how important this game is to us. These games take huge importance when we get to the latter stages.

"We know if we can hit the correct levels of performance like we did against Leicester we are a match for anyone in this division."

On Frank's side, and their recent league meeting...

"It is an interesting game to look back on. Brentford went to Chelsea and played a different system. When we look back on that game we weren't there defensively. We looked back on track against Leicester and defended our goal well. If we can do that again, I back us to score goals."

On building momentum...

"Those two games (against Liverpool and Leicester) have been really good performances. The problem for us was Brentford was sandwiched in between it, and we didn't like ourselves in that one.

"We back ourselves from an attacking sense with the players we have and it was good to see us score the goals we did at the weekend. Our only focus is on Brentford and winning this match."

On Sven Botman's return to action with the under-21s on Monday night...

"He was good last night, he seemed in a good place, we exchanged messages. His movement was good, commanding and a big presence on the pitch. We have missed him.

"That was a good step for him to get back on the pitch. We are looking at the end of December or start of January (for him to be available for the first team)."

On Lewis Hall's recent form...

"Lewis has been very consistent, he has been a shining light for us. For someone so young that is not easy to do.

"I think his technical ability has been outstanding, defensively he has been pretty good, (and) how he has handled himself and his maturity on and off the pitch has been high level."

On Martin Dúbravka's return in place of the injured Nick Pope on Saturday...

"Martin played really well, I think he was very calm in possession and gave us a really good platform to build from at the back. (He's) a vastly experienced head. I think he can be very pleased with his return to the team."

On making the most of a home draw after a weekend home win...

"That gave us a great feeling, we have such a powerful force at home with our supporters. We need to execute our plan well and continue where we left off against Leicester."