11 min: Actual Newcastle possession is conceded by Fraser, the ball finds its way up Bissouma after Trossard’s pass. Three decent chances, three lacking in a decent connection.
9 min: Joelinton on the flanks doesn’t look right. He is, as they used to say up in the Manchester area, a ‘centre crash’. He’s no winger, that’s for sure.
8 min: Maupay seems to be playing off the right, drifting away so others can fill the space a centre-forward fills. The same seems to go for Welbeck. The aim appears to be drawing out Newcastle’s massed phalanx of defenders and letting runners from midfield do the damage. [/chalkboard]
Maupay actually has the ball in the net but Dubravka had clearly been fouled.
6 min: Another chance for Maupay to cross from the right wing, another clearance. Newcastle are sat deep, and that appears to be the plan of action. This does not come as a surprise to anyone, does it?
4 min: Moder again, seemingly playing as an underlapping full-back, as he gets inside a flick from Welbeck. A better shot this time but Dubravka is equal to the task. Brighton already finding openings.
2 min: Maupay gets to the touchline and dips in a cross, Welbeck leaves it for Moder, who has a chance to score on his first start. He whacks it over. He saw glory and delivered something rather less than glorious.
1 min: Away we go. A feast of football surely awaits us all. Just before kick-off there was a moment shared between the two managers. That was nice, actually.
The teams are on the field. Some nerves around, there has to be. This is massive.
Steve Bruce speaks
[On Fulham losing] It helps the situation. I have always said it’s your accumulation over a season. It’s a big game. I think we’ve played OK over a few weeks. We had a terrible December and January but slowly but surely we’re getting back to an acceptable level. We are unbeaten in three but need to turn those draws into wins. It’s vital that you have your big players fit and available. We’re delighted to see him back in contention. Miggy has been outstanding.
Graham Potter speaks
We have to try to play well, we have to be smart and do our best. We don’t worry about what other teams do. We play for ourselves. We’ll just try and win the game, keep fighting.
Newcastle have won just two of their last 17 Premier League matches, while Brighton’s win at Southampton was their first win in six since beating the division’s whipping boys in Liverpool.
The big news for Newcastle is that Almiron is fit to play after recovering from his keen injury. He and Javi Manquillo replace Emil Krafth and Dwight Gayle.
Brighton make one change from the side that beat Southampton last weekend with Jakub Moder coming in for Dan Burn, to make a first Premier League start. Burn drops to the bench.
Brighton: Sanchez, Moder, White, Dunk, Veltman, Gross, Bissouma, Lallana, Trossard, Welbeck, Maupay. Subs: Mac Allister, Jahanbakhsh, Alzate, Izquierdo, Tau, Steele,
Propper, Zeqiri, Burn.
Newcastle: Dubravka, Manquillo, Lascelles, Clark, Dummett, Willock, Shelvey, Hayden, Joelinton, Almiron, Fraser. Subs: Carroll, Ritchie, Gayle, Lewis, Hendrick, Fernandez, Murphy, Darlow, Sean Longstaff.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Fulham’s defeat to Leeds last night means the stakes aren’t quite so high as they might have looked in midweek but there’s certainly so much to play for on Saturday night. This will be a clash of styles: playing well and not getting what they deserve in Brighton’s case versus not playing well and somehow not being in the relegation zone in the case of Newcastle. Graham Potter is admired by Brighton fans, Steve Bruce isn’t by Newcastle fans, and yet there is a single point between them. Newcastle, with no Callum Wilson, no Miguel Almíron, and Allan Saint-Maximin, as is likely, look likely to try and dig in for a draw. Though they would probably have done that anyway. With Adam Lallana at last free from injury and the aftereffects of Covid, then Brighton have a player of class, and if Albion could just find someone to score goals for them then they can pull clear. But we should be prepared for this to be the type of game where staring down the abyss lowers the entertainment levels to reading the manual of a micrometer screwgauge.
The kick-off is at 8pm UK time. Join me.
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