Eddie Howe has stoked the importance of the FA Cup for Newcastle United as they travel to Blackburn Rovers.

John Eustace's side are looking to cause a cup upset on Tuesday night as they welcome Premier League opposition to Ewood Park. Rovers beat West Ham United and Leicester City in the domestic cups last season, both away from home, but lost to Nottingham Forest.

Cambridge United and Wrexham AFC have given Rovers an easier route into round five this time around. It's fair to say there will be a step up in quality on Tuesday night though.

It's a massive match for Newcastle too, who want to win a trophy and qualify for Europe with Champions League football unlikely to return to St James' Park next season.

READ MORE: Eustace on Rovers reality and Hedges injury

"It's a huge game for us. We're absolutely committed to the FA Cup to do well and have been all season," boss Howe said.

"We've had two difficult games away from home to get to this stage and now another one. We've been looking forward to this game so we know how important it is.

“In really, really challenging situations, the players have really stuck together and we have to do that now for Blackburn.

“We have to look at this as the biggest game of our season. And yeah, there’s a lot resting on this next game.”

On the team news front, Alexander Isak and Joe Willock both came through their returns on Saturday unscathed. Martin Dubravka missed that game through illness but could be back, replacing Lorius Karius.

“Alexander (Isak) and Joe have come out of the game okay to this stage,” said the Magpies head coach. “We were delighted with Joe’s return, I thought he looked really good when he came on. He scored a very typical Joe Willock goal, which was great to see.

“It’s a difficult one (to decide whether or not he’s ready to start). It’s something I’ll have to discuss at length with the medical team. I think he’s very, very close to starting, he’s done a lot of work.

"Although we’ve only seen the 30 minutes or so that he played against Arsenal, he’s actually done a lot of work, and he seems to be getting himself into a position (to start), so that’ll be a judgement call.”