The Magpies face a Leverkusen side who are just one point behind them in the group phase and who currently sit fourth in the Bundesliga table, albeit 14 points shy of leaders Bayern Munich.
United, meanwhile, head to the BayArena looking to further boost their hopes of progressing, having won three of their five games in the competition so far this term.
Head coach Howe believes Kasper Hjulmand’s men will provide stern opposition – and that the midweek match in Germany will be a useful indicator of how his team are shaping up ahead of a hectic month of action.
He spoke to the media at the BayArena on Tuesday afternoon. Here are some of the main talking points from his pre-match media briefing:
On Bayer Leverkusen…
“Leverkusen are an outstanding football team, true to their identity.
“It will be another test of how far we have come and how far we have to go.”
On team selection, with the Tyne-Wear derby to follow on Sunday…
“I think we will pick a team that will be strong tomorrow and strong on Sunday.
“We have a few injuries to our backline which has been the case for a few games now.
“We don’t necessarily have the depth at the moment, but we come here with a strong squad and we are ready for both games this week.”
On Yoane Wissa, who made his Magpies debut in the win over Burnley on Saturday…
“He looks positive, body language is very good. He’s been boosted by coming on the pitch and he’s ready to take on minutes.
“The challenge we have now is limited training times between games, which we have to get right.
“He showed the qualities he had in those twenty minutes, and he will only get better.”
On a big week ahead…
“It has been an intense week. We finished the game on Saturday, and immediately prepare for the next one.
“We are having to cram a lot of work into a short period of time. We are excited by this one and looking forward to the challenge. It’s a tough game for us.”
