European hopefuls meet in pivotal showdown – kick-off time, team news and how to follow

Newcastle and Brighton will face off this evening in a clash pivotal to both sides’ European hopes.

The Magpies still have their Champions League dreams in their hands while the Seagulls are battling to be in Europe for the first time ever.

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Eddie Howe’s side slipped to a 2-2 draw with Leeds at the weekend which allowed Liverpool to close the gap to just one point following their win over Leicester.

But Newcastle have the edge with their game in hand and victory here would leave them needing just one more win from their final two games to seal their Champions League return.

Brighton, meanwhile, secured a stunning 3-0 scalp over Arsenal to effectively end the title race and move them up to sixth.

Newcastle vs Brighton: talkSPORT coverage

This Premier League clash will take place on Thursday, May 18.

Kick-off at St James’ Park is scheduled for 7:30pm.

talkSPORT will have live and exclusive coverage from Tyneside, with Hugh Woozencroft serving as your presenter.

Commentary will then come from Sam Matterface and former England defender Micky Gray.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

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Newcastle vs Brighton: Team news

The Toon are still sweating over the fitness of Sean Longstaff with the midfielder struggling with a persistent foot injury.

But the home side otherwise have a clean bill of health to contend with.

For Brighton, Solly March is a doubt due to a hamstring issue but Joel Veltman could return from a similar problem.

The visitors do have several stars missing, with Tariq Lamptey, Adam Lallana, Jeremy Sarmiento and Jakub Moder all sidelined.

Rex

Newcastle vs Brighton: What has been said?

Eddie Howe has described the ‘alarming’ scenes which saw him pushed by a pitch invader at Elland Road.

Speaking to talkSPORT post match, the manager said: “For me, I’ve never experienced that before.

“I was looking in the opposite direction and he ran on and shouted something at me that I won’t repeat.

“It was over in a flash but it was the last thing you expect in that moment.

“It’s alarming for football really because we can’t have that, the safety of everyone, coaching staff, players, is of paramount importance.”

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Newcastle vs Brighton: Match facts

• Callum Wilson has scored 10 Premier League braces for Newcastle (including three in his last four games), but is yet to net a hat-trick for the Magpies. Only Sadio Mané at Liverpool (12) and Ryan Giggs for Manchester United (11) have netted more braces for a side without getting a hat-trick in the competition.
• Deniz Undav has scored three goals in his last four Premier League games for Brighton, having failed to find the net in any of his first 14 appearances in the competition.
• Brighton have scored eight Premier League goals from teenagers this season (Ferguson 4, Enciso 3, Buonanotte 1), more than any other side. The last team to net more such goals in a campaign were Manchester United in 2019-20 (11).
• Callum Wilson has scored 17 Premier League goals this season, including 10 in his last nine appearances. It’s the most by a Newcastle player in a single top-flight campaign since Alan Shearer in 2003-04 (22).
• Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has lost just one of his eight Premier League meetings with Brighton (W5 D2), winning all four of his home games against the Seagulls in the top-flight.
• Brighton have won eight Premier League away games this season, with only top two sides Manchester City (11) and Arsenal (12) winning more. Meanwhile, only Arsenal (35) have scored more on the road than Brighton (33) this term.
• Newcastle have kept just one clean sheet in their last 15 Premier League games, a 2-0 win against Manchester United in April. They’ve conceded twice in both of their last two, last conceding multiple goals in three consecutive games in December 2021.
• The reverse fixture between Newcastle and Brighton this season took place 278 days ago, on the 13th August 2022 (0-0). Excluding the 2019-20 campaign (which had a 3-month break during lockdown), it’s the longest gap between two sides meeting in a single Premier League season.
• Brighton have kept eight Premier League clean sheets against Newcastle, more than against any other side. They’ve kept a clean sheet in 73% of their Premier League games against the Magpies (8/11) – of all teams to face another more than 10 times in the competition, only Chelsea against Portsmouth (79%) have recorded a higher share of shutouts (11/14).
• Newcastle have won just one of their 11 Premier League games against Brighton (D6 L4), though it was in this exact fixture last season (2-1). It’s their lowest win rate against any side they’ve faced more than twice in the competition (9%).