“We are looking forward to welcoming them..” Eddie Howe and his team prepare for AFC Wimbledon’s clash

Eddie Howe announces that his team is taking the game preparation against AFC Wimbledon “seriously” ahead of their midweek Carabao Cup clash. The Magpies will play the League Two side on Tuesday evening. This is after the original fixture had to be postponed due to severe damage to Wimbledon’s pitch.

The cup meeting has been shifted to St. James’ Park as a result. The victor set to face Chelsea at home at the end of October. Newcastle come into the game off the back of a 1-1 draw against Premier League champions Manchester City.

Concurrently, after winning four of their first six games, Johnnie Jackson’s team is sixth in the League Two standings. Prior to the cup match on Tuesday, Howe cautioned his teammates in Newcastle not to underestimate Wimbledon’s current form.

In an attempt to get the Premier League team to advance to the competition’s fourth round, Howe has suggested that a formidable starting lineup will be selected.

Howe, via the Newcastle United Twitter account said: “We are looking forward to welcoming them. For us, we take the game seriously.

“They have started the season well, they are a strong team and are very good from set plays. Defensively they have been excellent this season too, we have a challenge to break them down.”

Newcastle donated £15,000 to Wimbledon following the damage to their pitch at Plough Lane, with the fourth-tier side looking to raise £50,000 to pay for a fix.

The campaign raised more than the £50,000 they were asking for, after flooding caused the pitch to become unplayable. This led them to raise the target to £150,000.

Wimbledon will now be hoping to use that money to return the surface to a playable condition again as quickly as possible, with the team already two games behind most of their League Two rivals.

Wimbledon have only played six League Two games so far this season, with the rest of the top seven having already had eight fixtures. Despite the two fewer games played, Wimbledon occupy a place inside the play-off places and are only six points behind leaders Gillingham.

Jackson’s team have conceded just four from their six games. They scored nine, earning 13 points from a possible 18. The two sides will meet in the EFL Cup third round on Tuesday evening at St. James’ Park.

Howe’s team lost the EFL Cup final at Wembley Stadium two seasons ago. Newcastle missed out on the opportunity to win major hardware for the first time in many years.