Match of the Day pundit Mark Lawrenson has predicted that Newcastle United will secure their first victory of the season when they face Brighton and Hove Albion this Saturday.
The Magpies welcome the Seagulls to St James’ Park at the weekend, and Lawrenson has admitted that there is more pressure on Rafa Benitez to win this clash compared to the visitors.
However, he reckons that United will secure all three points with a 2-0 win over Chris Hughton’s side.
Lawrenson says that the prospects of the two clubs are actually quite similar, and he believes that they will both finish towards the top of the bottom eight and avoid relegation.
“There is more pressure on Newcastle to win this than the Seagulls. But I think Rafa Benitez will take a lot positives from his side’s performance against Manchester United at Old Trafford, even if they did not get the result they wanted in the end,” he told BBC Sport.
“The Magpies have not picked up a single point at St James’ Park this season but I am backing them to get off the mark in this game.
“Longer-term, their prospects actually look quite similar to Brighton’s, in that I am not expecting either of these teams to be relegated. They will both be in the bottom eight, but towards the top end of it.”
OPINION
It is actually quite surprising that Lawrenson has predicted Newcastle to get their first win of the season over the Seagulls. They have been struggling for form recently, whilst Brighton looked rather decent in their recent 1-0 win over West Ham. Nevertheless, the well-known pundit has taken into consideration that Brighton’s away form is spectacularly woeful. This is something that United must capitalise on, as it is one thing that could make all of the difference. However, they cannot afford to be complacent, as Brighton are capable of pulling surprises out of the bag. This is a must-win match for Benitez and his men, and if they fail once again to take any points away, then their top-flight future will look rather bleak. Lawrenson reckons that neither team will be relegated, but if Newcastle continue in the way that they are going, the drop will most certainly be looming.
