Brighton & Hove Albion welcome Newcastle United to the Amex Stadium on Saturday evening (17.30) in a mouth-watering clash.

Expectations are high at both Brighton and Newcastle this season after the Seagulls qualified for the Europa League for the first time and the Magpies secured a berth in the Champions League.

Both sides are seeking to return to winning ways as Brighton lost to West Ham last time out, while Newcastle were defeated by Liverpool, despite leading heading into the final five minutes of the match.

Using Betfred’s #PickYourPunt, we’ve created a 9/2 treble.

Match result – draw

I’m anticipating a closely-fought contest between these two sides given their aspirations this season.

Being at the Amex should give Roberto De Zerbi’s side the edge but Newcastle’s tactics hold the key here, as I see Eddie Howe learning a valuable lesson from last week’s dramatic defeat to Liverpool.

Four of the last five meetings on the south coast have been stalemates, with all four going under 2.5 goals and two 0-0s.

Both sides have plenty of firepower but history suggests there won’t be a great deal to separate the sides.

Both teams to score

Neither side has kept a clean sheet this season, with Brighton conceding against West Ham, Luton and Wolves. Both teams have scored in all three of the Seagulls’ matches while this selection would have landed in two of Newcastle’s – the exception being the 1-0 away defeat to Man City.

Brighton are the top scorers in the league heading into the weekend, and they’ve scored in each of their last 19 matches, suggesting they’ll find the net again here.

I also fancy Newcastle to score, as they were unlucky to only net once against Liverpool after hitting the woodwork twice.

Over 49.5 booking points

Both sides are two of only six teams to have been shown over eight yellow cards this season – Brighton have racked up nine and Newcastle are the league’s joint-leaders with 10.

Kieran Trippier has given away one foul every game and could be tested up against the tricky Karou Mitoma, while Anthony Gordon showcased how he can cause problems for the opposition in the match against Liverpool.

I can see a few cautioned being handed out, so I’m backing over 49.5 booking points to round off this #PickYourPunt.