Saturday’s late Premier League kick-off sees Brighton & Hove Albion entertain Newcastle United at the Amex.
With three games in the books, Brighton find themselves sixth on six points, while Newcastle occupy 13th place with three points.
.@PremierLeague goal #27 for Pascal! 🇩🇪👑 pic.twitter.com/qHhoLUp2j3— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 27, 2023
.@PremierLeague goal #27 for Pascal! 🇩🇪👑 pic.twitter.com/qHhoLUp2j3
The Seagulls have made a flying start to the season, but the Magpies will be confident of kick-starting their campaign on the south coast.
Brighton started the season with back-to-back 4-1 victories over Luton Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers, highlighting their attack threat.
However, Roberto De Zerbi’s men were brought back down to earth last weekend, as the suffered a 3-1 home defeat to West Ham United.
Despite racking up 78% possession and 25 shots – 10 of which were on target – the Seagulls were unable to make the most of their dominance against the Hammers.
Still, Brighton are the highest scorers in the Premier League this term, having netted nine goals across their first three outings (three goals per game).
Newcastle, meanwhile, looked destined to defeat 10-man Liverpool last weekend, but they failed to finish the job and were made to pay for their wastefulness.
Anthony Gordan put the Magpies ahead midway through the first half before Virgil van Dijk was sent off three minutes later, with Darwin Nunez coming off the bench to bag a last-gasp brace.
Eddie Howe’s side kicked off their campaign with a thumping 5-1 thrashing of Aston Villa, but after losing 1-0 to Manchester City, they enter Matchday 4 on a two-game losing run.
That said, a win on Saturday would see Newcastle move level on points with Brighton, so they will be eager to take their chances this weekend.
Head-to-head: Newcastle thrashed Brighton 4-1 last season, meaning the Magpies are unbeaten in their last three meetings with the Seagulls.
When you look at the bigger picture, however, Brighton have lost just two of their previous 12 Premier League encounters with Newcastle.
Team news: Brighton forward Julio Enciso has joined Jakub Moder on the club’s injury list, although Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati is on the verge of joining on loan.
On the flip side, Newcastle will be without injured trio Sven Botman, Joe Willock and Emil Krafth on Saturday, while Joelinton is a doubt.
Given that Brighton are averaging three goals per game this season, the Seagulls will back themselves to outscore Newcastle.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Brighton will score over 1.5 goals on their way to defeating Newcastle.