Brighton and Hove Albion will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing home defeat to West Ham last weekend when they lock horns against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United in Week 4.
The Seagulls had nearly 80% of possession and twice as many shots, but ended up losing 3-1 to suffer their first loss of the campaign. This was also the first time ever in a top flight meeting between the two sides that the Hammers had beaten the Seagulls, and the nature of the defeat would’ve stung for Roberto de Zerbi. Albion, if you remember, had comfortably beaten David Moyes’ men 4-0 at home and 2-0 on the road last season.
Newcastle are seeking to bounce back from a disappointing loss of their own to Liverpool in GW3. With Anthony Gordon’s early goal and a red card to Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk inside the first 30 minutes, Magpies fans could have been forgiven for thinking that at least a point was guaranteed here against the Reds, if not all three.
Instead the much-maligned Darwin Nunez scored two goals off the bench, including a dramatic stoppage time winner as Jurgen Klopp’s men stole victory at St.James Park despite playing much of the game with ten men. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe cut a shocked figure at the final whistle.
Pascal Gross scored a fine long range consolation goal against West Ham- Albion’s only one of the game on the South Coast. The midfielder has been called up by Die Mannschaft for this month’s upcoming internationals- a maiden senior call-up at the age of 32; no small achievement given German coach Hansi Flick’s preference for youth (he left out both Muller and Goretzka) as he seeks to rebuild the national side. Gross is the second oldest outfield player in Flick’s named squad after Ilkay Gundogan.
Gross has been integral to Brighton’s rise in recent years, as is Lewis Dunk, who has also been called up to the England squad. Albion also managed to get Ansu Fati on loan on the last day of the transfer window- another indicator of just how much their stock has risen in Europe. Few Albion fans would’ve imagined their players getting called up to European national sides or landing one of Europe’s hottest young talents on loan a few years ago!
Fati will however not be expected to feature in this clash- it comes too soon for him, with Albion having to complete registration and other formalities.
Newcastle are themselves on an upward trajectory under Eddie Howe, and this is a nice battle between two sides seeking to disrupt the traditional “top six” hierachy in English football. Howe’s men qualified for the Champions League last season but have effectively been drawn in the Group of Death, with PSG, Milan and Borussia Dortmund for company.
The Magpies will be sweating on the fitness of key defender Sven Botman, who limped off towards the dying stages of their game against Liverpool.
Last five meetings (most recent first)
Brighton 1-2 Newcastle (Summer Series Friendly)
Newcastle 4-1 Brighton
Brighton 0-0 Newcastle
Newcastle 2-1 Brighton
Brighton 1-1 Newcastle