Newcastle boss Eddie Howe expects a battle at Brighton tonight.
The visitors need victory to stay clear inside the top four.
Howe said, “It’s a huge game. It’s one we’re looking forward to. I think it’s going to be a really good game between two excellent teams. I’ve got a lot of respect for Brighton and what they’ve done this season, how they play and, watching them against Arsenal in their last match, I was hugely impressed.
“They play the same shape with a couple of rotations but they’re very good at what they do. They try and play through you centrally with really good bodies in the middle of the pitch and very good technically. Roberto has done an incredible job and I’m full of praise for how he’s set the team up and the style of football he wants to play.
“I think it’s going to be a really tough assignment for us but one, at home, that we’re not fearful of and hopefully we’ll take a big step forward.”
On the final three Premier League fixtures, Howe continued: “We’re not looking too far ahead. As I’ve said all season, it’s small steps and it’s the next game, trying to get three points against a really tough opponent.
“That’s all we can do at this moment in time. We can’t look beyond, at other teams’ fixtures and external factors. We have to look very much internally and bring our A game because this is going to be a really tactical game, an intriguing battle and hopefully we can show our best.
“I’m well aware of the importance of every game now. We’ve got three left, there’s huge competition for the top four and, deep down, I always thought there would be because the quality of the teams we’re playing and competing against and also the size of the achievement. With that, it’s never going to be easy.
“We’re prepared for that as staff and I think the players are. This is going to be the hardest bit and we’re going to need everybody to pull together to try and achieve it.”
