Newcastle United v Brighton early team news as 20-goal striker suffers injury on eve of clash: photos

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has confirmed that striker Joao Pedro has picked up an ankle injury - one that could see him miss the rest of the season. Pedro, who moved to Brighton from Watford last summer, has scored 20 goals in all competitions for the Seagulls this season, with nine of those goals coming in the Premier League.

However, Pedro is unlikely to feature at St James’ Park - a place he could have been playing his football at following Newcastle’s protracted interest in the Brazilian back in 2022. On Pedro, De Zerbi said: "I am sad for that because Joao is important for us, especially in this moment when Julio Enciso and Ansu Fati are not at the top of their level of condition."

Pedro joins a long list of Brighton absentees for this afternoon’s match whilst Eddie Howe, meanwhile, is in a position to potentially welcome back a couple of players with Joelinton and Miguel Almiron, who featured from the bench last weekend, both pushing for a start.

Nick Pope, meanwhile, was an unused substitute last weekend but could be in-line for his first start since early-December. Howe also revealed that Kieran Trippier may be in contention to make his return to the team after missing the last two months with a calf injury.

Here, we take a look at the latest injury news from both Newcastle United and Brighton ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash.