Seeking to close the gap to the Premier League summit, reigning champions Manchester City travel to St James' Park to take on Newcastle United on Saturday evening.
Eleven points currently separate these two teams in the table, with the Citizens occupying third place and the Magpies sitting six positions further back in ninth.
Howe was rewarded for naming a strong starting lineup, albeit somewhat forced upon him amid the club's injury crisis, as an Alexander Isak brace followed a first-half own goal from Dan Ballard to help the Magpies claim the bragging rights over the Black Cats for the first time since 2011.
Newcastle will travel to Fulham in the fourth round later this month, but they must first shift their attention to Saturday's contest with Man City, a side whom they beat 1-0 in their most recent meeting four months ago in the EFL Cup courtesy of a second-half strike from Isak.
The Magpies' record against the Citizens in the Premier League leaves little to be desired, though, as they have only won one, drawn five and lost 26 of their last 32 top-flight encounters – their only triumph during this run being a 2-1 home win in January 2019.
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