Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Newcastle United to AMEX Stadium in a blockbuster relegation six-pointer on Saturday Night Football.
Should Fulham fail to beat Leeds on Friday evening, victory could put Brighton as high as six points clear of the relegation zone.
Newcastle meanwhile could begin this match sat in the bottom three if Fulham do defeat Leeds and needing a win to not only climb back out but also move above Brighton into 16th.
Team News
Aaron Connolly is set to return for Brighton earlier than expected after a cracked rib kept him out of last weekend’s win at Southampton.
Dan Burn (hamstring) is a doubt but Adam Webster (ankle), Tariq Lamptey (hamstring), Florian Andone and Solly March (both knee) remain ruled out.
Newcastle could welcome Miguel Almiron back into contention if he passes a late fitness test, having missed their last two matches with a knee injury.
Fabian Schar (knee), Allan Saint-Maximin (groin) and Callum Wilson (hamstring) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Brighton are unbeaten in seven previous Premier League meetings against Newcastle (W3, D4).
- Newcastle have taken two points from three previous Premier League trips to the Amex Stadium (D2, L1).
- Three of Brighton’s four Premier League draws against Newcastle have finished goalless.
- Newcastle have kept just two clean sheets in eight away games across all competitions in 2021.
- Brighton have scored first in three of the four home league games in which they have scored in since the turn of 2021.
Prediction
Brighton come into this match off the back of a huge morale boosting clinical win at Southampton, in which they took their chances best even after a tactical change whilst weathering a series of frantic high energy attacks from the Saints.
Newcastle meanwhile often lacked end product in their scrappy draw at home to Aston Villa last weekend, yet dug deep and got rewarded with a late point despite their defending at times being sloppy but typical of that game overall.
On that note, I feel like this game could boil down to who possesses the better end product to attack given the defensive quality of both teams, which I think will just give Brighton the edge given their attacking form in the last two months.
Prediction: Brighton 1-0 Newcastle
Result: Brighton 3-0 Newcastle
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