Brighton fans have their say on relegation battle, Newcastle clash

Every game at the moment feels like a cup final for Newcastle United. Steve Bruce’s men had a few opportunities to take all three points from teams around them, and they could have defeated Aston Villa last time out, but the pressure is weighing down more heavily this week.

Brighton’s confidence is on the rise after they handled business against Southampton (2-1) last weekend, and that victory took them one spot and one point ahead of Newcastle United. The Magpies have only celebrated two victories in 2021 against Everton and Southampton, but they need all three points at the Amex Stadium.

The current injury crisis does not help the situation, but the fact that Miguel Almiron might make the cut for this game generates some optimism. Callum Wilson has also started training with the team again, which is a great sign for the Toon, and Allan Saint-Maximin is on a quick path for recovery as well.

Unlike Almiron, Wilson and Saint-Maximin are not expected to be fit for action this weekend, but their presence in training should motivate the rest of the squad. The last meeting between the Magpies and Seagulls ended in a shocking 3-0 win for Graham Potter’s team at St. James’ Park, and their fans are expecting a similar result.

Brighton supporters are confident their team will defeat Newcastle United again.

Writing football content involves some online creeping, and that is how I ended up on the North Stand Chat, which is a forum created by Brighton supporters for all things related to their club. On this website, Brighton fans predicted the outcome for Saturday’s massive game against Newcastle United.

In total, at the time of this writing, 66% of Brighton supporters that participated in the score prediction poll are confident that the home side will claim the double over Newcastle United on Saturday. The majority of the votes (24%) can see the Seagulls winning with a 2-0 score line.

19% of their supporters in the forum predicted a draw, and only 11% expressed their pessimism by predicting a Newcastle United victory. The confidence among Brighton fans is expected, however, many among the Toon Army truly do fear the worst for this clash.

The Magpies’ poor form over the last few months, combined with the fact that Newcastle United have not defeated Brighton since being promoted together does not bode well. In addition to predicting Saturday’s outcome, forum participants also had their say on the current relegation battle.

In the “Who is going down with WBA & Sheffield United?” poll, only 21 people think Brighton will go down. Fulham received the second-most votes with 69, and, surprise, surprise, Newcastle United occupied the top spot with 173 votes. That is the Steve Bruce effect for you.