Newcastle v Brighton
PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: St James' Park
Date: Saturday 20th October 2018
Kick-off: 15:00 BST
Referee: Andre Marriner
Assistants: Simon Long, Richard West
Fourth official: Tony Harrington
TEAM NEWS
Newcastle are assessing several players including Salomon Rondon and Paul Dummett, both of whom missed games prior to the international break.
Ciaran Clark suffered a thigh injury during training with the Republic of Ireland midweek and is a major doubt.
Brighton will be without Davy Propper for several weeks due to the ankle problem he picked up against West Ham.
Pascal Gross could return from a similar issue, but Dale Stephens and Gaetan Bong are both doubts.
MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES
Guy Mowbray: This is huge for winless Newcastle.
Finally take three points, and they can reflect on tough early fixtures whilst looking ahead with optimism.
Lose, and a rotten mood could be paired with the smell of a rot setting in.
They must start with the same verve that took them into a two-goal lead at Manchester United, and then keep the momentum that went against them there.
Brighton can be cooler with their approach, in accordance with Chris Hughton's sanguine take on their poor away record.
Beneath the calm exterior though, there'll surely be a strong desire to get one over the owner of the club he led back to the Premier League before being sacked far too soon afterwards.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez: "The first win is always the most difficult. As soon as we win we will have more confidence and it will be easier.
"The fans have something to prove - to prove Bruno (Brighton's captain) wrong, that they will not turn [against the team]. They care and they know the players care. One of our strengths is our fans."
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton: "We've given the players some time off - and we went into the break on the back of a good win.
"It's been a nice feel this week but now it's back to business at the weekend. The game will be another tough away match for us - we know it's a challenge to do better away from home."
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
[*=left]Newcastle have won only two of their past 10 league and cup matches against Brighton (D3, L5).
[*=left]However, Brighton have only scored once in their last five league away fixtures at Newcastle, which came in a 1-0 second tier win in March 1992.
[*=left]Newcastle's tally of two points is their lowest after eight games of a top-flight campaign.
[*=left]They failed to win any of their opening 10 fixtures in 1898-99 but had three points after eight games.
[*=left]Newcastle have lost all four home league matches this term, conceding two goals in each.
[*=left]Only three teams in English top-flight history have lost their first five home league games of a season: Manchester United in 1930-31, Portsmouth in 2009-10 and Bolton in 2011-12.
[*=left]Newcastle have won only one of their last 14 fixtures in all competitions (D2, L11).
[*=left]With eight points from eight games, Brighton have exactly the record as they did at this stage of last season (W2, D2, L4).
[*=left]Brighton are winless in their last 17 away league games, scoring just seven goals during that run.
[*=left]The Seagulls have trailed at half-time in a league-high six matches this campaign.
[*=left]Chris Hughton is yet to win at St. James' Park as an away manager in four attempts (D1, L3). He was Newcastle boss between October 2009 and December 2010.
[*=left]Glenn Murray is the five-goal top-scoring player aged 33 and over in Europe's major leagues - a group that contains Cristiano Ronaldo.
[*=left]The next goal scored by Murray will be his 100th for Brighton.
