Premier League: South Coast Peril for Nervous Magpies

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Newcastle United

Two of the top flight’s brightest young managers come face to face on Saturday when Premier League: Brighton vs Newcastle United will be main attraction South of London.

Following the departure of Graham Potter to Chelsea, Roberto de Zerbi took the Seagulls to the next level and they are embarking on their first ever European adventure. Pep Guardiola has described the Brighton boss as ‘one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years’ and, if he continues to deliver on the South Coast, De Zerbi will become a hotter property by the year.

His opposite number Eddie Howe made his name when he led Bournemouth to the Premier League, back in 2015, and now he is the head coach of the richest club in England….if not the world.  

Which coach is under more pressure? I’d say Eddie; the club’s Saudi owners expect success and Newcastle’s start to this campaign has yielded three points from three games, while the Seagulls have six. The fact this is a sixth place versus 13^th match doesn’t tell us much, so early in the season, but back-to-back defeats for the mega-rich Magpies is a rarity, though the did face Manchester City and Liverpool. Brighton have arguably had an easier start, winning games against Luton Town and Wolves, before losing to West Ham and De Zerbi’s bright young team will fancy this one.

Talking Points

New look Brighton can still rock

The Seagulls’ model worked like a charm last season. The club is well backed by their owners and they buy young and little known talent, develop it and sell for a huge profit. Last season Leandro Trossard went to title chasing Arsenal and this summer Alexis MacAllister and Moises Caicedo have departed for a combined £150m – as well as goalkeeper Robert Sanchez for a further £25m.     

The £30m paid to bring forward Joao Pedro from Watford smashed the Seagulls’ incoming transfer record and, apart from that swoop, De Zerbi has brought in highly rated keeper Bart Verbruggen from Anderlecht and the evergreen utility man James Milner from Liverpool. These three astute signings are integrating nicely into a squad which retains many of the players who took the Seagulls into Europe.  

Captain Lewis Dunk remains one of the most under-rated centre backs in the game, though not by Brighton fans; experienced winger Solly March has already weighed with three goals and 18-year-old striker Evan Ferguson is one of the most exciting prospects in the Premier League.

The Seagulls’ bank holiday meeting with West Ham turned out to be anything other than a treat but De Zerbi will ensure his players have learned from that and are ready to move on. He has the perfect blend of youth and experience and these are exciting times at the Amex; Brighton fans have never had it so good.   

Newcastle may need a little patience 

Three points from three games isn’t a spectacular return but after losing to champions Manchester City the Geordies clash with Liverpool was always going to be a tough assignment, and two late goals from Darwin Nunez stunned the Geordies. This is not yet the time to panic, though that is never really a risk for the super cool Howe.

Last season he guided the team to the Champions League by moulding together a carefully recruited group of players; and he has bought well again this summer, bringing in attacking midfielder Harvey Barnes from Leicester for £39m and midfield ace

Sandro Tonali from AC Milan for £55m. The Italian star should link up well with Bruno Guimaraes who was the Magpies’ best player last season. He was absent for six league games last season and Newcastle didn’t win any of them. Bruno is a key man at both ends of the pitch, breaking up attacks, he has a neat passing game but can also hit the longer defence piercing balls, and he can drive at a defence and shoot with either foot.

With the Champions League set to keep the fans’ excitement mounting, Howe, along with his assistant Jason Tindall, has plenty to handle and he needs to balance domestic and European priorities. With Brentford, Sheffield United and Burnley to come after the international break the Magpies will surely pick up more points soon, so I’d say a draw would suit Howe on Saturday.    

History

The Brighton vs Newcastle United results tell a story of a close battle between two upwardly mobile clubs, with the Seagulls edging the recent wins by six to five and there have been six draws.

Brighton won ten, drew four and lost five of their games at the Amex Stadium last season while Newcastle lost just three games on the road. But the Magpies have failed to win on their last six visits to Brighton and last season the fixture ended in a goalless draw.   

Betting Tip

The latest SBOTOP odds on the 2023/24 Premier League title winner places Newcastle sixth at a price of 28.00 and Brighton eighth at 81.00. So we are confident the Magpies will chase down the Seagulls long before the end of the campaign.

But can they do it on Saturday?

That’s a tough call to make and the Brighton vs Newcastle United betting odds reckon it will be very tight indeed, with the visitors marginal favourites at a price of 2.39 and the hosts at 2.48. So how about the draw at 3.25?  Well that may well be the outcome but if either team is to sneak it, I’m going for the Seagulls.

 

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