Brighton and Hove Albion vs Newcastle United on Saturday 2 September is a modern-day Premier League classic waiting to happen.
It fittingly brings the Saturday round of fixtures for matchday 4 to an end because fans will have expended a lot of emotional energy on the match by the time the final whistle is blown.
Managed by two of the Premier League’s youngest managers, Roberto De Zerbi and Eddie Howe, both teams are playing the best football that England has seen since Pep Guardiola first landed in the country.
The hosts, Brighton, are among the best at pulling opponents out of their defensive areas with their “pause game”. De Zerbi sets up his men to hold on to possession by playing out from the back. Each Brighton player holds on to the ball for a few seconds to cause movement of opponents before releasing it into the space that is created by those movements. This leads to smooth transitions and enough chances created.
The visitors, Newcastle United, are the typical Premier League team, reminiscent of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United. There are also elements of the possession style that Guardiola introduced to the league. The Magpies move the ball around quickly but avoid lingering in the middle of the park, which cuts their transition time from defence to attack.
The clash of these two teams is becoming “peak Premier League football”. Last season was the preview and this season, with the blistering starts that they both have had, it will be a pleasure to be seated in one of the stands at the AMEX while the tactical battle is ongoing.
Brighton have had a flawless start to life in the 2023/24 Premier League but De Zerbi is not letting it get to his head. Just before facing off against West Ham United in matchday 3, the Italian – who is being tipped to replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United by pundits who believe the Dutchman is closer to an exit than to a contract renewal – said he is not satisfied with how his team has played in the previous 4 – 1 wins before that match.
“We can play better, score more, create more and at the same time, can concede less. We have to think in the same way together,” he said.
Eddie Howe is thinking the same thing, especially after he was unable to get the better of Pep Guardiola in matchday 2. He realises that there is something missing in his game and he will be looking forward to the challenge that is De Zerbi and his Brighton side.
Read on for Brighton and Hove Albion vs Newcastle United match information, tickets, possible lineups and predictions.
Match Tickets
Tickets for the Brighton and Hove Albion vs Newcastle United match will be up on the websites of both teams soon. The high-stakes game will mean that the tickets will sell out as quickly as they are made available.
For neutral fans who enjoy spending their afternoons enjoying a game of football live and the fans of either club, they may have to consider getting their Brighton and Hove Albion vs Newcastle United tickets from resellers.
For fans in and around the United Kingdom who will be watching at home, from a pub or in groups at a location of their choosing, the game will be coming to them live from Sky Sports at 5:30 PM from the AMEX Stadium, home of the Seagulls of Brighton.
Fans in the 212 provinces where the Premier League is licensed can enjoy it via the official broadcast partners who licensed the games for the 2023/24 season.
Team news
Brighton and Hove Albion are yet to sign a marquee player with the money they made from the sale of Moises Caicedo to Chelsea. They could go ahead and do this in the winter transfer window in January 2024, seeing as the summer transfer window is officially closed. Their new signings have blended in nicely, however.
De Zerbi will miss the talents of teenage midfielder Julio Enciso for the foreseeable future after the Paraguayan suffered a knee injury in training. He is yet to become a starter for Brighton but he is a valuable squad member whose talents are often required in games.
Newcastle United are likely going to give Lewis Hall his debut against Brighton. The young left-back was pursued by Howe and he chose to leave Chelsea where he was slowly gaining prominence. Dan Burn could keep his place thanks to his experience but Hall will get a run in the Brighton game.
Howe also does not have any major injury scares outside those who were already unavailable before the start of the season.
Lineups
Brighton and Hove Albion have been the most dynamic team in the 2023/24 Premier League. They have switched up their starting XI more times than other clubs thanks to the squad depth that is available to Roberto De Zerbi. However, the Italian is likely going to bring back the players who started the first game of the league season. This means returning Joël Veltman to the starting lineup ahead of James Milner and taking out Billy Gilmour for Mahmoud Dahoud.
Brighton and Hove Albion: Steele; Estupiñán, van Hecke, Dunk, Veltman; Dahoud, Groß; March, Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson.
Newcastle United have not changed their XI and they are not about to start against Brighton, which will require their strongest XI. Fans will get the pleasure of watching Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton – who had an injury scare two match days ago – aid the quick transition from defence to attack.
Newcastle United: Pipe; Trippier, Schär, Botman, Burn; Tonali, Guimarães, Joelinton; Almiron, Isak, Gordon.
Prediction
We are looking at a tight game that will be fast-paced thanks to the speed in both teams. Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupiñán will provide the speed down the wings and Pascal Groß will provide the cover that the team needs while finding spaces himself. Newcastle’s midfield will be one to watch and De Zerbi will surely wrap his tactics around making them ineffective.
The attack will be sharper on the Magpies’ end, however. Both teams will stretch each other to the limit and end up sharing the spoils.
Brighton and Hove Albion 1 – 1 Newcastle United.
