Eddie Howe's team news update: Hall, Trippier and Livramento latest ahead of Palace visit | OneFootball

The Eagles arrive at St. James' Park (kick-off 3pm GMT) for what will be United's first outing of the New Year, having beaten Burnley 3-1 on Tuesday to secure a first league win since early December.

Full back Hall took a knock in the victory at Turf Moor, but Howe delivered a positive update on the 21-year-old's fitness on Friday morning as he previewed the clash with Oliver Glasner's men.

The Magpies head coach also spoke about Kieran Trippier, Tino Livramento, Anthony Elanga and Sven Botman - who have all been absent through injury recently - at his pre-match media briefing.

Here are some of the main talking points:

On Hall's fitness...

"He should be OK. We'll have a closer look at him today.

"He's an important player for us. He's technically excellent - an attacking, front-foot defender and he's only going to get better the more games he plays.

"Fitness-wise, he's getting his very best form back. He's a real talent and we need to try and keep him on the pitch."

On other defensive news...

"We've got a couple of training days but Tino Livramento and Kieran Trippier have worked really well. They've had a couple of recovery periods so they're both close. Emil Krafth is further back."

On Botman and Elanga...

"They're both very close. Sven's been training with the group which has been great, so I envisage him being in and around this game. Anthony hasn't trained with us yet but is very close to doing so."

On Crystal Palace...

"It will be a difficult game. Their away form is very good, they're a very good defensive team - solid, tough to score against and they've got good attackers the other way as well.

"They're a team we won't underestimate, but it's a game we can do well in if we play to our best levels."

On his side's fixture schedule...

"This is going to be a season-defining month for us with very minimal rest between games.

"You look at the month as a whole and it has some great games for us - some really mouthwatering occasions - but we've got some tough challenges ahead and certainly the start of the month has to be a fruitful one."

On the win at Burnley last time out...

"There was a period of 10, 15 minutes where we were turning the ball over a little bit too much, and that gave them confidence and belief to come back into the game. That's frustrating from our perspective, having got a two goal lead after ten minutes, I expected us to go on and consolidate in that moment.

"We have our themes and areas that we're focusing on and trying to implement at the moment that will make us stronger and better."