After facing the Clarets, Newcastle meet Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League before next weekend's derby against Sunderland.
Burnley visit St James' Park tomorrow with former Toon goalkeeper Martin Dubravka between the posts. Howe was eager to talk up his old No1.
He said, "Unbelievable professional and a very good goalkeeper and long before I came to the club he etched his name into legend status for what he did for such a period of time and how reliable and dependable he was.
"I am sure he will get a warm reception from the supporters and I think he deserves a warm welcome. When it comes to the game I hope he has a busy afternoon."
Wissa a chance
Howe was happy to offer a teaser to Toon fans this morning. Asked for an update on Yoane Wissa's imminent debut, the manager was upbeat. The summer arrival from Brentford is now fully recovered from a preseason knee injury suffered while away with DR Congo.
The striker played in a private friendly a week ago - and did so again midweek. Howe was upbeat this morning on the player's progress.
He said, "Getting closer. We did 11 v 11 game on Wednesday which was more minutes for him. Round about half an hour so we will see how he is today. So far he's looked good and come through everything. We still have training today and we have to make a decision if he is not just fit but fit to make a difference.
"I think it will be a big boost for us and for the squad to have someone of his experience, calibre and quality back in the group. We need to be mindful of how long he's been out and how little training he's had.
"Normally we want to give him more but in our situation we don't have the grace to do that. He's a great finisher but match sharpness is the concern to make sure we bring him back at the right time."
Asked what Wissa's debut will do in terms of morale, Howe was effusive.
"I think it will be a big boost for us and for the squad to have someone of his experience, calibre and quality back in the group. We need to be mindful of how long he's been out and how little training he's had.
"Normally we want to give him more but in our situation we don't have the grace to do that. He's a great finisher but match sharpness is the concern to make sure we bring him back at the right time."
Late goals frustration
Asked about conceding another late goal in the midweek draw with Tottenham, Howe admits the way they're giving up such goals is an issue.
He said, "It's been really painful for us because we've lost a lot of points in that respect and there's a psychological blow when it happens too many times.
"Set play against Arsenal and a set play against Spurs. We need to put it right but I don't think there's a serious thing to worry about underneath. I don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong."
On their problems defending set-pieces, Howe admits the Premier League's move to hasten free-kick taking has caught his players out this season.
Howe continued: "I think the rules the Premier League have brought in has quickened the game up which has made it a better spectacle but it makes game management more difficult. You're limited with what you can do but we need to defend better from our perspective.
"Set plays win you games or lose you games but we have been on the wrong end of them. I think in this game when they scored the second goal there was minimal time left in the game. Every set play is a challenge but we consider ourselves tall enough, strong enough and robust enough to deal with that and we got the details wrong."
Barnes v Gordon?
Meanwhile, Howe insisted Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon can both thrive in the same team. The pair do play in the same wide position, but their manager says they can complement eachother.
He explained: "I don't look at it like that. Harvey's been in a rich vein of form and then you see Ant come on the pitch and deliver the performance he did in a short time.
"We have two outstanding players who bring different qualities and there's a versatility there where we can use them both at the same time."
Key pair
Before concluding, Howe offered fitness updates on key pair Sandro Tonali and Sven Botman.
On midfielder Tonali, he said: "He's had a scan, we don't think it's too bad so we are giving him every chance to declare himself fit. It was a dead leg type feeling but Sandro felt concerned enough to get scanned."
And on defender Botman, Howe added: "Sven has had an injection in his back I believe but I haven't seen him personally since the Tottenham game. We hope that will bring about his return quite quickly but we think there's a timeframe of about a week for the injection to work."