Brighton & Hove Albion will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Premier League when they welcome Newcastle United to the Amex on Saturday for a relegation six-pointer.
The Seagulls are currently 16th in the table, three points clear of 18th-placed Fulham, while Newcastle occupy 17th position, one point behind Brighton heading into this weekend's contest.
Match preview
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Brighton ended a run of three straight Premier League defeats last weekend with a 2-1 victory at Southampton; Che Adams had cancelled out an effort from Lewis Dunk to leave the scores level at the interval, but Leandro Trossard netted the game's decisive goal in the 56th minute.
The Seagulls, as mentioned, are currently in 16th position, three points clear of 18th-placed Fulham, but the Cottagers are in action on Friday evening against Leeds United, and a win for Scott Parker's side would move them above Newcastle and out of the bottom three.
Survival is still very much in the hands of Graham Potter's side, but there is no downplaying the importance of this weekend's contest, particularly considering that their next three in England's top flight are against top-four hopefuls Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea.
Brighton actually have the third-worst home record in the Premier League this season, collecting just 10 points from their 14 matches, recording just one win in the process.
The Seagulls are unbeaten home and away against Newcastle since February 2017, though, and recorded a 3-0 victory when the two sides locked horns in the reverse match back in September.
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Newcastle, meanwhile, drew their third straight league game at home to Aston Villa on March 12, with Jamaal Lascelles scoring a leveller in the 94th minute of the contest.
Steve Bruce's side have only won one of their last seven in England's top flight, which has left them in 17th position in the table and very much in the relegation mix, largely due to Fulham's recent form.
As mentioned, Newcastle could be in the relegation zone by the time that this match kicks off, and the Magpies have a tough run of fixtures ahead, facing Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Liverpool in three of their next four.
Bruce's team also have a very difficult end to the campaign, taking on Arsenal, Leicester City and Manchester City in three straight matches at the start of May, and they will finish their season away to Fulham on May 23, which could prove to be decisive in terms of staying in the division.
Newcastle have the third-worst away record in the league this season with just 12 points from 14 matches, while they played out a goalless draw with Brighton in the corresponding game at the Amex last term.
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Team News
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Brighton boss Potter revealed at Thursday's press conference that Dan Burn would train on Friday and should be available this weekend, having been forced off at the interval against Southampton with a tight hamstring.
However, the Seagulls will still be without the services of Adam Webster, Aaron Connolly, Florin Andone, Solly March and Tariq Lamptey for the contest.
Brighton could ultimately be unchanged from the side that started last time out, with Adam Lallana and Danny Welbeck both earning spots in the first XI.
Newcastle will again definitely be without the services of Callum Wilson, Fabian Schar and Allan Saint-Maximin through injury, while Miguel Almiron is also expected to miss out despite making progress in his recovery from a knee problem.
Bruce is expected to resist the temptation to make changes from the side that drew with Villa last time out, meaning that Dwight Gayle should again feature in the final third alongside Ryan Fraser and Joelinton.
Jacob Murphy and Andy Carroll are options for change in the final third, but the midfield three, consisting of Joe Willock, Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden, is unlikely to be altered for the clash at the Amex.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Veltman, White, Dunk, Burn; Gross, Lallana, Bissouma, Trossard; Welbeck, Maupay
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Krafth, Lascelles, Clark, Dummett; Willock, Shelvey, Hayden; Fraser, Gayle, Joelinton
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Newcastle United
Brighton were impressive at Southampton last weekend and will fancy their chances of overcoming a Newcastle side still missing some vital players; we are expecting a close match at the Amex but feel that the home side will have enough to pick up a huge three points in their fight for survival.
Top tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Brighton & Hove Albion win with a probability of 49.7%. A draw had a probability of 26.3% and a win for Newcastle United had a probability of 24%.
The most likely scoreline for a Brighton & Hove Albion win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.15%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.73%) and 2-1 (9.15%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.37%), while for a Newcastle United win it was 0-1 (8.37%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Brighton & Hove Albion would win this match.
