Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez has warned Albion not to be taken in by Bruno's suggestion that they can turn the Toon Army against their team.

The sides meet at St James' Park with hosts desperate for a Premier League victory - something they are yet to achieve this season - in their second campaign in the top flight since emerging together from the Sky Bet Championship.

Seagulls skipper Bruno claimed earlier this week that the visitors could pile the pressure on the hosts if they could make the crowd already in open rebellion against owner Mike Ashley restless, but Benitez is confident that will not happen.

Benitez said: "Our fans, they have something to prove - that Bruno is wrong, because Bruno was talking about the fans will get on top of the players if they make mistakes.

"But our fans are very clever. They know this team. They care, they are professionals and they care and they work really hard.

"They know also our strengths and weaknesses and one of our strengths is our fans behind the team. If they see something wrong, they will still be supporting the team.

"I'm sure at the end of the game and at the end of the season that everybody will be happy because the relationship between the players and the fans is quite strong.

"They showed that in the Championship, they showed that last year, so I think Bruno is wrong."

In an interview for Albion's official website, Bruno said: "They’re going to start the game very fast and we have to try to control the pace. Their fans will be behind them, but if they don’t play well, they’re going to be on them.

“Their intensity could be really high, but if we start well, the fans could turn and it’s always tough to play without that confidence. We can take advantage of that.

“It always helps to have your fans closer to you, but the setup at their stadium is quite different. It’s quite similar to the stadia in Spain, such as Villarreal, where the away fans are very high."