Newcastle vs Brighton Preview: Chris Houghton aiming to haunt former club

Newcastle take on Brighton at St James' Park in their 3pm kick off on Saturday, hoping to clinch a much-needed victory.

After a two week break due to international games, both teams will be out fresh on the pitch after time to rejuvenate and work together to build up to this game.

Hughton returns

Former Newcastle manager Chris Hughton will return to St James' with his Brighton side hoping to secure victory for his southern side.

The last time Hughton took his side to Tyne-side neither team were able to break the stalemate, holding each other to a 0-0 draw.

Newcastle currently sit six places lower in the table than their rivals. Stuck at 19th they are still in a very dangerous position as the middle of the season begins to approach.

A win for Newcastle is vital. Without one they will stay in the danger zone of relegation.

Brighton have taken away eight points from their first eight matches, securing a comfortable place in the middle of the table.

Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez needs his side to perform highly against the away team to secure some much-needed motivation and points.

Injury woes

The Magpies will be without Ciaran Clarke who picked up an injury after playing for The Republic of Ireland over the break.

International duty for Paul Dummett also sees him out, after pulling out of the Welsh squad to nurse an injury.

Yoshinori Muto's fitness is also under question, after recently picking up an injury problem. Before he plays, he has to prove his fitness, meaning he may also miss the weekend's fixture.

Red Devil revenge

Benitez's side will be looking to forget about their 3-2 defeat to Manchester United two weeks ago, when the Magpies lost their two-nil lead to United.

Brighton came out on top of their last fixture, beating West Ham 1-0, going into the game confident off the back of a win.