Miguel Almiron of Newcastle United is tackled by Marc Cucurella of Brighton & Hove Albion during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United at American Express Community Stadium on November 06, 2021 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
After a thrilling opening day of the season for Brighton & Hove Albion, beating Manchester United at Old Trafford in a thrilling exchange, they will welcome Newcastle United to the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Graham Potter and his men will have their tails up in search of triumph in hopes of derailing Newcastle’s hopes of getting European football this season.
Brighton themselves will also look to secure three points due to their desires surrounding a top-half finish, carrying on momentum from last season.
As for The Toon, they also have a 100% win record ahead of the second match of the campaign.
Eddie Howe & Co fought off newly-promoted Nottingham Forest relatively comfortably last time out and they too will be hunting for victory.
Team News - Brighton
After a minor injury against Manchester United last Sunday, Brighton’s Argentinian playmaker Alexis MacAllister should be in contention for this weekend’s outing.
In regards to long-term absentee Jakub Moder, he will remain sidelined for The Seagulls.
Rotation may be key for the home side however as last weekend’s substitutes Enock Mwepu, Levi Colwill and Tariq Lamptey all push to start from the beginning.
Team News - Newcastle
For Newcastle, only Jonjo Shelvey will be unavailable for selection after the announcement of his hamstring surgery. The Englishman will be out of Eddie Howe’s squad for approximately 12 weeks, according to reports.
Saturday may also be too early for a highly anticipated Sven Botman start; Fabian Schär and Dan Burn will likely keep their respective places after earning a clean sheet against Nottingham Forest last weekend.
Previous meetings
Historically it has been a mixed bag in terms of results between both sides.
Dating back to 1930, in domestic competitions Newcastle have came out on top 10 times with Brighton winning on 12 separate occasions. Only eight times has the fixture ended in a draw.
Recently it has been very much the same story; facing each other 12 times since 2016 in both the EFL Championship and the Premier League, Brighton have won on four occasions and Newcastle only three.
Consequently, a further five matches between the teams have ended in draws, setting Saturday’s fixture up for a tight and unpredictable game.
Ones to watch
Danny Welbeck - Brighton
Despite Pascal Groß snatching a brace for The Seagulls on the opening day of the season, frontman Danny Welbeck will be instrumental to Brighton’s system this season.
With only four goal contributions against The Magpies in 13 meetings over the years, Welbeck will look to boost that tally as he desperately looks to keep his spot in the squad ahead of Neal Maupay and Deniz Undav.
Being the facilitator in the team, the Englishman will attempt to link-up play, drift wide on occasion and provide the clinical edge needed in the box of the away side.
Bruno Guimaraes - Newcastle
As for The Toon, their Brazilian playmaker Bruno Guimaraes will certainly look to test the resolve of Brighton’s defence on Saturday.
Through the cutting-edge passing, relentlessness in defence and general dictating that Guimaraes offers consistently, chances certainly won’t be at a premium as he will look to provide for the likes of Callum Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almirón.
Grabbing five goals and one assist in a handful of appearances throughout the last campaign, Guimaraes will be desperate to kick-start his year this weekend against Brighton with yet another convincing performance.
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Predicted line-ups
Brighton: Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; March, Groß, MacAllister, Caicedo, Trossard; Lallana; Welbeck
Newcastle: Dubravka; Trippier, Schär, Burn, Targett; Willock, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Almirón, Wilson, Saint-Maximin
Where to watch
The match will commence at 3pm on Saturday afternoon with highlights of the game being available on Sky Sports Football’s YouTube channel after proceedings.
Audio coverage will be available through BBC Newcastle.
