Danny Welbeck is the only change in the starting line up as Brighton and Hove Albion take on Newcastle United at St James’ Park at 3pm this afternoon (Saturday 2 May).
Welbeck has been named as captain and takes the place of Georginio Rutter who started in the 3-0 win against Chelsea on Tuesday 21 April but is on the bench today.
Lewis Dunk has been named as a sub again, with Olivier Boscagli keeping his place in the centre of defence.
Head coach Fabian Hürzeler was asked how confident he was, given Albion’s recent form – six wins from eight – and Newcastle’s poor recent form, with four defeats in a row.
He said: “We are definitely full of confidence but we also have a lot of respect for Newcastle because they have a great squad with great individual quality.
“Especially in their stadium, they play with such an intensity and energy with the crowd behind them. It will be a loud, intense game.
“That’s why we have to stick to our principles. We have to go there with the belief to win this game. We have to understand there will be a lot of work to do.
“We have to play with intensity too. We have to stop their individual quality and then we want to go there and dominate this game, play our game. Then we know that we have a chance to win it.”
Welbeck up front will be supported by a midfield that includes Carlos Baleba and former Magpie Yankuba Minteh as well as Pascal Gross, Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood.
Boscagli will partner Jan Paul van Hecke in the centre of defence, flanked by Mats Wieffer and Ferdi Kadioglu, with Bart Vergruggen in goal.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is also making just one change from the 1-0 defeat at Arsenal, with Joelinton coming back from suspension and Jacob Ramsey dropping to the bench.
Former Seagull Dan Burn is down for a start in defence but winger Anthony Gordon, recovering from a hip problem, has been named as a sub.
Brighton start the afternoon in sixth place in the Premier League, with 50 points from 34 matches and with the prospect a place in Europe.
The table remains tight. If Albion take 12 points from their final four games, they could finish third. Drop all those points and they could end up 16th.
Newcastle are 15th and still not mathematically safe from relegation, with 42 points from their 34 games, giving them every incentive to put up a fight today.
Howe’s side may be big and physical but, earlier this week, Hinshelwood revealed that the Seagulls have been given coaching by a mixed martial arts fighter.
Hürzeler said that the aim was to improve the players’ performance in one-to-one battles when defending set pieces.
Regardless of how physical the game is, many Albion fans would settle for a repeat of the 2-1 win over Newcastle at the Amex last October when Welbeck scored twice.
