On Boxing Day in the Premier League, Newcastle will take on Nottingham Forest at St James' Park.
Both teams have suffered a recent drop in results, with the Magpies losing 1-0 to Luton Town in the last round.
Newcastle have been disoriented by injuries and have had to play high-intensity games despite the team's injury and illness staggering their squad, and Howe is still grappling with the home side's consistency issues.
The defeat to Luton Town was the third defeat in the last four Premier League games and saw the Magpies slip to seventh in the table, seven points behind the top four.
The next opponent, Nottingham Forest, is experiencing a seven-game winless streak, with only one win, two draws and six defeats away from home.
After a gap of more than two years, Steve Cooper ended his coaching role and the arrival of new boss Nuno Espirito Santo did not have an immediate impact as Nottingham Forest lost 3-2 to Bournemouth at the City Stadium.
Against such an opposition, coach Howe and his players knew that Nottingham was a good opportunity for them to take all three points.
In terms of injuries, Newcastle have recently seen Serles and Miley leave the pitch with injuries, while the likes of Sandro Tonali, Joe Willock, Harvey Barnes, Nick Pope, Elliott Anderson, Jacob Murphy, Xavi Manqueiro and Matt Target remain sidelined with various injuries.
Nottingham Forest's Ibrahim Sangaré and Tajvo Awoniyi, Serge Oriel and others are also unavailable due to injury. In addition, Boehly was unavailable due to suspension.
The stats show that Newcastle have been very strong at home, winning eight of their last 10 home games.
In contrast, Nottingham have lost four of their last six away matches and drawn two of them.
In addition, Newcastle have also excelled in corners, winning five games and losing just one against top-flight side Arsenal.
Nottingham, on the other hand, have poor corner kick stats, as evidenced by their last four consecutive defeats.
Football expert Ben Knappton said: "Nottingham seem to be sad against a Newcastle side that are always good at home. "His ** for this game is that Newcastle will make the most of home advantage to beat a declining Nottingham side.
Based on a number of factors, and taking into account Newcastle's home advantage, as well as the recent form of both teams and the injury situation of the players, the score of this game will be 2-0, with Newcastle beating Nottingham Forest at home.
It will be a crucial win for Newcastle who will need it to boost morale and move up the table.
As for Nottingham Forest, they need to get back into form as soon as possible to get out of their winless streak.