Premier League: Seagulls and Magpies are Looking Upwards

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Newcastle United

Two of the brightest managers in European football come face to face on Saturday, when Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton and Hove Albion welcomes Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United to the Amex Stadium.

Brighton vs Newcastle, 12^th versus 11^th in the Premier League, is a mid-table clash between two clubs with higher ambitions. Last season, the Seagulls finished eighth and their 32-year-old boss, the youngest in the English top-flight, is keen to kick on, but his team has made a slower-than-expected start. Likewise, Howe was only 31 when he took the helm at Bournemouth back in 2009 as the youngest manager in the league.

The Newcastle boss has much more experience now, but he has plenty of pressure to contend with as manager of the Saudi-owned Magpies. A fifth-place finish gave them Champions League football, and Newcastle come into this game with back-to-back wins, over Union Saint-Gilloise in European competition and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, the Seagulls drew 1-1 away to Wolves to make it four matches unbeaten, and the Premier League 2025 betting odds say we’re in for a ding-dong battle on the south coast, so let’s take a look at the latest Premier League 2025 news from the two camps.

 

Talking Points

Stefanos is ready for the Seagulls

Despite a decent start to the campaign and scoring a good number of goals, Brighton haven’t had a great return from their strikers so far. The 34-year-old Danny Welbeck scored two in Brighton’s clash with Chelsea, and that’s about it. Record signing Georginio Rutter is yet to hit the mark this season, while Japan hitman Kaoru Mitoma has been nursing an ankle injury. 

Hurzeler does have another option in the shape of 19-year-old Greece U21 striker Stefanos Tzimas, who arrived on a £22 million transfer from FC Nurnberg in the summer.

He has scored twice in two games in the Carabao Cup and has looked bright in three Premier League substitute appearances, making the assist for the Seagulls’ late leveller against Wolves last week. Tzimas bagged twice for Greece U21s in the international break, so he is full of confidence, and he might be in line for a start against the Geordies.          

 

Ramsey in contention for Magpies

Howe’s team have played some good football this season, but they have only won one Premier League game. Newcastle’s meeting with Arsenal last month ended in despair as they succumbed to a last-minute winner, and they suffered the same fate against Liverpool earlier in the campaign. Three consecutive 0-0 draws away from home have highlighted a lack of creativity on the road, and the Magpies finally broke their duck with the win over Forest last time out.  

Howe has not had the best of luck with injuries. Summer signing Yoane Wissa remains sidelined, and another big-money recruit, Jacob Ramsey, signed from Aston Villa, has been out for seven games with an ankle injury.

The sale of Yankuba Minteh to Brighton, in a move that helped Newcastle comply with Financial Fair Play rules, has left the Geordies short in terms of creative flair. So, the return of Ramsey to fitness is a huge boost. Howe certainly needs numbers available as the midfield duo of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton have been on international duty with Brazil and will complete their 5,500-mile round-trip from Asia later this week.  

 

History

The Seagulls have had the better of the head-to-heads with nine wins to the Geordies’ five, and there have been eight draws, but the South Coast club has won only one of the last five encounters. 

There was plenty of controversy in the last meeting as Newcastle, chasing a Champions League place, suffered a VAR and refereeing nightmare in a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium. At 1-0 down, the Magpies thought they would be given a hand when the already booked Mats Wieffer ploughed into Sandro Tonali. But mystifyingly, the Dutch star stayed on the pitch. Newcastle had already been denied two penalties by VAR, and only a late spot kick, converted by the now departed Alexander Isak, saved the Magpies a point.  

The referee on that day was Craig Pawson. Much to Howe’s dismay, I suspect, he’ll be back in the centre on Saturday.

In terms of recent form, with three wins, one draw and two losses from their last six outings, the Magpies are on an upward trend, while the Seagulls have been consistent with three wins, two draws, and a single defeat.

 

Betting Tip

Brighton are the favourites to win this match at SBOTOP odds of 2.55, but the Magpies are not far behind at 2.72, and I have a feeling the likely outcome will be another draw.  

   

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.