At a glance
- Newcastle host Brighton at St James’ Park
- Brighton’s only loss in last seven was against Arsenal
- Newcastle has two wins in last seven
Brighton will be looking to increase their chances of climbing the table and secure European football next season, with a win at Newcastle United on Saturday (02/05). Brighton’s form of late has been nothing short of spectacular, with only one defeat in their last seven games, that being a 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal.
Newcastle, on the other hand, have not been in great form recently. The Magpies have won just two of their last seven matches, with their only home victory coming against Manchester United. Their other win was a 1–0 away success at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
Their last meeting at St James Park ended in a 1-0 win for Brighton, thanks to a Danny Welbeck goal. The return fixture this season also went Brighton’s way, with a 2-1 win featuring a Welbeck double. He will be hoping to get on the scoresheet again and strengthen his case for an England call up.
The unbeaten run in April has received the recognition it deserves. Fabian Hürzeler has been nominated for Manager of the Month, Pascal Groß for Player of the Month, and Kaoru Mitoma’s volley against Spurs is nominated for Goal of the Month.
Expected Lineups
Newcastle Utd – Joelinton is available for selection after his suspension, Anthony Gordon has trained a little on Wednesday after missing the last two games with a hip problem, and will be assessed closer to the game.
Possible line up (4-2-3-1): Pope; Miley, Thiaw, Botman, Burn; Joelinton, Tonali; Woltemade, Barnes, Elanga; Wissa.
Brighton – Wieffer is available for selection, despite being forced off with ‘a small issue in his ankle’, but Solly March and James Milner won’t feature this weekend.
Possible line up (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Wieffer, van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu; Groß, Baleba; Minteh, Hinshelwood, Mitoma; Rutter
Thoughts on the game
Newcastle Manager Eddie Howe: “We need to keep the level of performance where it was against Arsenal. The team looked good, it looked confident, it defended well. I think it was a big upturn. We need to back that up at home, our home from has not been strong enough. A lot riding on this weekend for us.”
Brighton Manager Fabian Hürzeler: “We have a lot of respect for Newcastle. They have a great squad with great individual quality. They play with such an intensity and energy at their stadium, so need to go there with the belief we can win. It will be a lot of hard work and we might have to suffer, but we want to be dominant and give ourselves a chance to win.”
Prediction
For me, Brighton’s current form should be enough to get them over the line. Even with Newcastle at home, Brighton have the quality going forward to cause problems and create chances. If they’re clinical on the day, I can see them outscoring Newcastle and coming away with a 2-0 win.
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