Brighton & Hove Albion
Newcastle United
Newcastle United
Survival strugglers Brighton and Newcastle battle it out to avoid the drop
Brighton 2-1 Newcastle
What an incredibly important match this is to these two sides, both battling to remain in the Premier League for next season.
Brighton are coming into this one in slightly better form, having secured three valuable points against Southampton last weekend. That victory moves them three points clear of relegation and, regardless of Fulham’s result 24 earlier, will remain outside the drop zone for this weekend at least.
Their overall form has been a worry, however, with three straight defeats before last weekend, and they will want to avoid another run like that coming into the final stretch of the campaign.
Newcastle haven’t won a game now for six weeks, and have only scored three league goals during that period. They’ve been dancing with danger for a while now, but could realistically slip into the bottom three if Fulham secure victory themselves.
There is plenty riding on the outcome of this one.
Form Guide (all comps): DLLLW
Reasons to be cheerful:
They’ve never lost to Newcastle in the league
Dan Burn could be fit to play despite injury
Reasons to be fearful:
Could lose three consecutive games at home
They’ve won just one of their last 18 home matches in the league
Of the two sides, Brighton are the most likely to come out here and play to win the game, as they have done for much of the season.
Unfortunately, it has not been through poor attitude that Brighton are in the position they are in – a mixture of bad luck and not taking their chances has seen the Seagulls occupy a lower position than perhaps their quality deserves.
Having said that, just one home win from their last 18 matches at the Amex Stadium is a shocking return for a Premier League side, and their struggle to find the back of the net has hindered them throughout the season.
Neal Maupay, the man entrusted as their main striker this season, just hasn’t produced regularly enough – he’s now gone nine games without a goal.
They found the back of the net twice against the Saints last weekend. Can they do similar here?
Star Man – Leandro Trossard
Got the winner against Southampton last weekend. Can he inspire his side again here?
Form Guide (all comps): LLDDD
Reasons to be cheerful:
Currently on their longest unbeaten run of the season
Almiron has an outside chance of being fit
Reasons to be fearful:
Winless in their last five games
Haven’t kept successive clean sheets away from home since 2013
Newcastle have certainly had some bad luck with injuries of late, losing all three of their top scorers in recent weeks.
Callum Wilson, Saint-Maximin and Almiron have all been sidelined, although the latter could be fit to play a role here, despite originally thought to be out until April.
They could sure use his goals – he scored two goals in February before missing the last two games with a knee issue.
That being said, Newcastle have been poor for much of the season, their attitude being prepared to sit back and try and hit teams on the counterattack. On occasion, this has worked – against the likes of Everton for example – but too often it has left them toothless going forward.
They need a huge performance here, but their record against Brighton is poor, as is their win ratio in recent weeks.
Star Man – Miguel Almiron
If the Paraguayan is available to the Magpies, it could improve their chances massively.
A game that could decide fate of both clubs
Neither side can afford to lose
Brighton have the edge in quality
While this is a game neither side can afford to lose, Brighton are likely to be the side pushing hardest for victory.
That could well change should Newcastle find themselves in the bottom three at the start of the game, but it would take a huge effort to change the way in which they’ve been playing recently.
Brighton have the edge in quality and, if they can play as they did against Southampton last weekend, could come away with three precious points.
Brighton 2-1 Newcastle
