Newcastle will be looking to continue their winning start to their 2022/23 Premier League season on Saturday, as they face a trip to Brighton this weekend.
Goals from Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson handed Newcastle a comfortable 2-0 win over newly-promoted Nottingham Forest last weekend. The result was the perfect start for Eddie Howe's side, with the Magpies looking to push on this season.
Their opponents this weekend also got off to a strong start, beating Manchester United 2-1, as they won at Old Trafford for the first time in their history. Howe has confirmed that Federico Fernandez, Emil Krafth, Jonjo Shelvey, Javier Manquillo, Jamal Lewis and Jamaal Lascelles are all ruled out of Saturday's game, with the latter picking up his injury in the warm-up last weekend.
READ MORE: Newcastle United press conference LIVE - Eddie Howe on transfers, Brighton and injuries
So, how will both teams line up tomorrow? We simulated Newcastle versus Brighton to try and get a feel of what could happen on Saturday.
Brighton vs Newcastle score predicted by simulation
To run this simulation, we used FIFA 22, updating the squads with the latest transfers made in this window. Both sides lined up in their 2021/22 kits as FIFA 22 does not provide the 2022/23 ones.
We predict that Brighton will line up in a 3-5-1-1 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Webster; March, Gross, Mac Allister, Caicedo, Trossard; Lallana; Welbeck.
We predict that Newcastle will line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Targett; Guimaraes, Joelinton, Willock; Almiron, Wilson, Allan Saint-Maximin.
The Magpies started brightly on the south coast, with Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin both testing Robert Sanchez early on in the Brighton goal - though both could've easily scored. Despite impressing, it was Brighton who took the lead with their first shot of the game.
Adam Lallana flicked Leandro Trossard's cross through to Danny Welbeck just outside the penalty area, and the striker shifted the ball onto his left before approaching the six-yard box. Under no pressure, Welbeck was allowed to shoot, drilling his effort into the far corner to put the Seagulls ahead.
The goal came against the run of play, with Newcastle having both more of the ball and more shots. Chris Wood was introduced with 20 minutes to go, and the forward came close on multiple occasions.
His best chance was his most difficult one. Wood received the ball just outside the box and hit a sweet effort aimed for the top corner, but Sanchez pulled off an incredible save to push the effort wide.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Brighton 1-0 Newcastle
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that despite controlling the game, Newcastle could leave the south coast with no points on Saturday, with Brighton winning 1-0 in the simulation. Big chances missed by Wilson, Wood and Saint-Maximin proved costly in the game, potentially showing how clinical Newcastle must be on Saturday, and the result could be very different if the Magpies take their chances.
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