Forest head to Tyneside sitting in third position in the Premier League table, and boasting a six-point advantage over Newcastle, who dropped to seventh when they lost at Manchester City last weekend.
With 13 games to go, the gap is far from insurmountable, but the Magpies would not want it to get any bigger, meaning they need a positive result from tomorrow’s game.
Newcastle’s primary target this season is to secure a return to the Champions League, and while few would have expected Forest to be one of their leading rivals at the start of the season, that is the situation that has unfolded thanks to the unexpectedly strong form produced by Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
“The challenge for us, the coaching staff and players, is to finish as high as we can in the league,” said Howe, whose side have failed to take a point from either of their last two home games. “Our target should be what is immediately ahead of us and above us.
“We have to try and chase down teams like Nottingham Forest. It is a small target of points. It is not impossible for us to achieve it.
“The game we have coming up is potentially a big moment in that. If we let our immediate opposition slip away from us, then it becomes very difficult to make that gap up. They are important games coming up in the next few weeks.”
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Newcastle enjoyed an excellent spell either side of Christmas, but since stringing together nine successive victories, their form has become more inconsistent.
They booked a place in the Carabao Cup final thanks to home and away wins over Arsenal, but also suffered home defeats to Bournemouth and Fulham and were heavily beaten at Manchester City last weekend. If Howe infuriated by the vagaries of his side’s form?
“I’m just trying to think if I would describe it as infuriating,” he said. “There has been a frustration there at different times this season, but I think the players share that. They are human and share the emotions I have watching a performance.
“It is either elation or its disappointment. Very rarely for us this season has it been in the middle, on the middle ground. But that’s the game we are in.
“For most teams in the league this year apart from Liverpool, and a couple of other teams who have had outstanding seasons like Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Fulham, everyone else has had those moments where they have been frustrated and they have to come back strong again.
“The league is so tough and everybody’s expectations are different. We can only live in our world, and our world is we have had some really good games and some frustrating ones. We just need to improve our game and be more consistent, and that starts this weekend.”
