Premier League: Magpies Seek Revenge on the South Coast

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Newcastle United

Newcastle United’s Champions League charge continues on Sunday when they make the 700 mile round trip south to take on Brighton and Hove Albion. 

Premier League: Brighton vs Newcastle United is a south versus north battle between two clubs at the extremities of England, and there’s plenty at stake as the hosts, sitting ninth in the league table, are hoping to continue a revival of their Europa League hopes while the visitors, currently third, are determined to cement their top five place as well as righting some recent wrongs against the Seagulls.    

Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton have beaten Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United twice this season, once in the league at St James Park, and then again in the FA Cup fifth round as Danny Welbeck scored a late, late winner. There aren’t many teams which could claim to get the better of the Magpies twice, but could lighting strike three times? The pre-match Brighton vs Newcastle United betting odds say it’s unlikely; and I’m inclined to agree.

Both teams had a victory last week, Brighton ending a winless run of five matches with a 3-2 win over West Ham United, while Newcastle relegated Ipswich Town, beating the Tractor Boys 3-0 to make it four wins in five.  

 

Talking Points

Brighton’s case for the defence

The Seagulls have had no problem scoring goals this season, notching eight in the last four games and three as they beat West Ham United last week, with a scorching late comeback. With Brighton losing 2-1, in the last minute of normal time, substitute Kaoru Mitoma levelled and then, deep into injury time Carlos Baleba scored a curling beauty to break the Hammers’ hearts.     

Brighton’s star forward Joao Pedro is suspended after he picked up a red card during the 4-2 loss to Brentford the previous week, copping a three match ban, but the Seagulls still have plenty of creative muscle. The bigger concern for Hurzeler is their leaky defence which has shipped ten goals in the last four games and 13 in the last five.   

Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak made the SBOTOP top ten players for the campaign and he’s a real threat, with 22 goals making the Swede the second top league scorer behind Mo Salah, and Brighton’s defensive colossus Lewis Dunk will need to play the game of his life to keep the Magpies’ star man at bay.   

 

Newcastle are ready for the final push

Aston Villa recently showed how Newcastle can be beaten, slapping the Magpies 4-1 at Villa Park; but that result was an outlier as it sat among wins over Ipswich (3-0) Crystal Palace (5-0), Manchester United (4-1) and Leicester City (3-0). Alongside Isak, Newcastle have a serious attacking threat in Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy, Anthony Gordon and Joe Willock.

And with a midfield pair of Sandro Tonali and Bruo Guimaraes this is a team full of goals, but, in today’s Brighton vs Newcastle United news, Howe has a decision to make around who to replace the injured Joelinton with. The third midfield star missed training on Wednesday after he sat out the win over Ipswich, nursing a knee injury. He could use Willock in that role or Howe may turn to the highly promising Lewis Miley who has impressed when given the chance. 

The race for the top five is hugely competitive, with Newcastle third, Manchester City fourth and Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea are currently occupying fifth place; Nottingham Forest, in sixth, play their game in hand on Thursday and seventh placed Aston Villa are right in the hunt.

 

History

With nine wins to five Brighton have had plenty of success against Newcastle, while there have been seven draws in all competitions since 2012. And, of course, the Seagulls have already had the better of these opponents twice this season.

Recent form favours the Magpies, who have won five of their last six games while the Seagulls have won just one match in that time, with four wins and a draw.      

 

Betting Tip

The Magpies are favourites, at a price of 2.20 to win this huge clash with the Seagulls priced at 2.63 and the draw is 3.35. Newcastle haven’t won on their last seven visits to the Amex Stadium so this is something of a bogey ground for Howe’s men, but they have the momentum with them and Brighton’s defence may well be opened up by the Geordies’ excellent attack. 

I’m expecting the visitors to continue their march and, for an alternative bet, 2-1 to Newcastle is available at odds of 8.48. 

   

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