Oddschecker football writer Ryan Elliott weighs up the best bets for Albion's crunch game against Newcastle at the Amex

The Result

That Spurs result hurt.

The bravery Albion showed in defence – particularly Shane Duffy and Lewis Dunk, who simply played out of their skins – warranted a point, despite the overriding criticism from the wider media regarding Chris Hughton’s approach.

A draw against Spurs would have been a colossally important point for Albion in their relegation battle with Cardiff but, depending on how the Bluebirds get on in their 3pm clash at Craven Cottage, the Seagulls can all-but secure safety against Newcastle in Saturday’s late kick-off.

One thing Albion can be sure of is that victory over the Magpies – regardless of Cardiff’s fortunes against Fulham – will leave Neil Warnock’s men requiring a result at Old Trafford on the final day, and that surely must be the aim heading into this.

A goalless seven-match run is clearly a huge concern for Hughton, but the defensive resilience his side displayed against Wolves and Spurs shows there is plenty more fight left in this side.

The bad news for Albion is that Newcastle have lost just once to non-top six opposition away from home all season, which does not bode well considering Burnley, Southampton, Bournemouth and Cardiff have all taken maximum points from the Amex in recent weeks.

Rafa Benitez’s side are fiendishly tough to beat on the road, and while Albion’s last couple of away displays have been full of promise – from a defensive standpoint, anyway – you can’t win a game of football without scoring. Surely, that run has to come to an end on Saturday?

Betting-wise, a draw is looking like the most probably result, which is best-priced at 9/4. Newcastle have won back-to-back matches heading into this, but with Albion’s defensive mojo back in place, we could be in for a gritty stalemate.

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/brighton-v-newcastle/winner

The Banker

No surprises here, my banker is under 2.5 goals, best-priced at 4/7.

Just 35% of Newcastle’s away games this season have seen over 2.5 goals, and with both sides’ games very much based upon a solid defence, I’d expect this to be a low-scoring nail-biter.

Just one of the last seven meetings between these two have had more than a couple of goals, so this banker is worth keeping an eye on.

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/brighton-v-newcastle/total-goals-over-under

The Longshot

I have a feeling Albion will finally score on Saturday.

Glenn Murray looks a shadow of the player he was at the start of the season, but one man who is always a threat is Shane Duffy.

The Irishman is still Albion’s second-highest goalscorer, which is perhaps unsurprising given the heavy reliance on set-pieces for joy.

Duffy to score first is priced at a massive 18/1, despite being one of the more likely candidates in my book.

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/premier-league/brighton-v-newcastle/first-goalscorer