Overview
The opportunity to quickly secure a Premier League relegation has slipped away from Newcastle United after the defeat at the Emirates, and Eddie Howe's team must still be careful in the remaining rounds.
Newcastle may feel unlucky to be empty-handed against Arsenal, but they could not create a breakthrough moment like Eberechi Eze did from a set-piece situation.
The most obvious opportunity for the away team came from Yoane Wissa's close-range volley, but the ball flew over the bar - an image accurately reflecting Newcastle's decline in form in recent times.
The Northeast England team has lost 4 consecutive matches in the Premier League and is currently only ranked 15th, 8 points ahead of the relegation group. Only Burnley (relegated) and Chelsea (still unstable) are teams that also have a similar streak of 4 recent defeats.
Newcastle are even at risk of losing 5 consecutive matches for the first time since 2021 under Steve Bruce. Not scoring at the Emirates also ended their 18-game consecutive scoring streak in all competitions.
However, St James' Park still regularly witnesses open matches, as both teams have scored in Newcastle's last 8 home matches.
In the opposite direction, Brighton is showing extremely high form. The victory at Amex Stadium on April 21, with goals from Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck, not only helped Brighton nurture hopes of participating in the Champions League but also dealt a heavy blow to Chelsea's ambitions.
Under the leadership of Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton continues to maintain impressive form and still has a chance to compete for the top 5. Currently they are in sixth place, 8 points behind Aston Villa and Liverpool when the season is only 4 rounds away.
However, the pressure behind is very high as Everton, Bournemouth, Brentford, Chelsea and Fulham are all closely following. Brighton is currently the team with the best form in the league with 13 points in the last 5 matches. Away from home, they also impressed with 10 points in the last 4 matches, keeping a clean sheet in 3 matches.
Notably, the 2-1 victory in the first leg in October helped Brighton extend their 6-match unbeaten streak against Newcastle - who have only beaten The Seagulls twice since both were promoted to the Premier League in 2017.
Personnel situation
A rare positive point for Newcastle in the previous round is that Bruno Guimaraes played 75 minutes without any problems after injury. Besides, Eddie Howe will also welcome the return of Joelinton after suspension for yellow cards.
Howe was optimistic about Anthony Gordon's ability to return after a minor groin injury. However, Fabian Schar (leg), Tino Livramento (groin) and Emil Krafth (knee) are still unable to return.
In the goalkeeper position, the decision to put Aaron Ramsdale on the bench and give Nick Pope a chance almost caused serious consequences in the match against Arsenal, when Pope luckily escaped a red card after fouling Viktor Gyokeres. Therefore, Ramsdale could completely be given back the starting position.
On Brighton's side, Adam Webster, Stefanos Tzimas and Diego Gomez (all knee injuries) are definitely absent. In addition, this match also came too early for Solly March (muscle injury) and former Newcastle player James Milner.
Mats Wieffer's case once caused concern when he left the field in the middle of the half in the match against Chelsea, but Fabian Hurzeler confirmed that the midfielder only had a minor ankle problem and is still capable of playing.
Expected lineup:
Newcastle: Ramsdale, Miley, Thiaw, Botman, Hall, Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton, Barnes, Osula, Gordon.
Brighton: Verbruggen, Wieffer, Van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu, Baleba, Gross, Minteh, Hinshelwood, Mitoma, Welbeck.
The match between Newcastle and Brighton takes place at 9:00 p.m. on May 2 (Vietnam time).
