BuildABet @ 25/1
- 12+ match shots on target
- Brighton 5+ corners
- Bruno Guimaraes 2+ shots on target
I've actually attended a Newcastle vs Brighton fixture in the past despite not supporting either club involved. It was awful.
Steve Bruce's Toon outfit played out a 0-0 draw early into the Graham Potter era. Apparently there were seven shots on target, I feel like I should dispute that statistic.
Thank god for Popworld, what I think was a Wetherspoons that sort of became a nightclub if I recall correctly and Greggs shops which seemed to open 24 hours a day.
Weekend saved, let us never speak of the actual football again.
Luckily, both of these sides are better now; much better. Both have developed into European competition standard and a domestic cup is now likely to be high on the priority list.
Newcastle are 90 minutes away from one, with a Carabao Cup final date with Liverpool to come in a few weeks, and they'll fancy their chances in the FA Cup given the way the competition has played out.
Four straight wins put Brighton in good form at least. They've also won four of their last five away - the one game which fell short being a bizarre 7-0 thrashing by Nottingham Forest.
Fabian Hürzeler guided them to victory in their league trip here in October. It's a fascinating encounter between two top-flight sides and one which should be entertaining enough for a free-to-air audience.
What are the best bets?
It's still a bit weird betting on the FA Cup when it's two Premier League sides involved, isn't it?
As Jimmy 'Jimrod' The Punt mentions in his column, it's often a case where cards aren't shown. That could also be the case here with Newcastle players ensuring they're available for the Wembley trip already confirmed.
Take that approach if you like and credit him if it's successful. I won't steal it here.
In all honesty, there's very little here which jumps out as decent value. A lot of what you'd expect is, understandably, short prices.
I've considered a few angles to approach but it does feel like a contest where NO BET is the top line. I don't think it's worth forcing something in what is not a league contest.
You could potentially get involved in the prices floating around even money on Brighton seeing at least 14 total shots considering that's what they average per game in the Premier League but then they only hit ten in their previous trip here.
There's also the potential lack of intensity, although I'll be more than happy to be wrong on that as I'm sat at home hoping for some entertainment.
With plenty of football elsewhere across the weekend, keep your money in your pocket on this one.
Team news
The biggest question for Newcastle surrounds the fitness of Alexander Isak.
Newcastle's star striker missed the defeat at Liverpool in midweek and they are unlikely to risk him here if he's not fully fit. If that's the case, Callum Wilson should continue up front.
Joelinton and Sven Botman are in contention to return after being sidelined with knee injuries.
Brighton will be without a number of players. Lewis Dunk, Igor Julio, Ferdi Kadioglu and Joel Veltman are all unavailable.
Hürzeler opted for a strong line-up for their victory over Chelsea in the last round and is likely to repeat that here given the opposition.
Predicted line-ups
Newcastle XI: Pope; Livramento, Schär, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Miley, Guimarães; Osula, Wilson, Barnes.
Brighton XI: Verbruggen; Lamptey, Van Hecke, Webster, Estupiñán; Baleba, Gomez; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck.
Odds correct at 1210 GMT (28/02/25)
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