Newcastle's run of five successive defeats has been damaging, and they are currently languishing down in 14th in the league. However, they have been able to maintain their scoring record on home turf, even in the tougher matchups. The Magpies have found the back of the net in each of their last eight consecutive home matches across all competitions, including against the likes of Man City, Barcelona and Man United. However, Newcastle have also failed to keep a clean sheet in any of those last eight home matches, which highlights their vulnerabilities at the back. 

Brighton will be looking forward to this clash, as it seems like a good time to face Newcastle. Fabian Hurzeler’s men have climbed up the Premier League standings, but with Bournemouth, Chelsea, Brentford and Fulham still without touching distance, Brighton cannot afford to take their foot off the gas.

The reverse fixture between these sides finished 2-1 to Brighton at the Amex, and there was just one card shown in that match. Dan Burn was booked in the 97th minute, which shows how lenient Craig Pawson was that afternoon. However, Chris Kavanagh is at the whistle for this clash, and that is a much better designation to back the other. Pawson is averaging just 2.55 cards per game in the league this season, compared to Kavanagh’s average of 3.84. 

Brighton rank third in the league for total cards accumulated this season, with 82 yellows from their 34 matches - only Tottenham and Chelsea have been booked more times. Newcastle have also forced the second-most bookings from their opponents in the division this term, and the Magpies have seen an uptick in cards themselves in recent weeks coinciding with their poor run of form.

With 14 goals scored from 36 appearances across all competitions, this is currently Danny Welbeck's most prolific season in terms of goals scored, and the 35-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down as the campaign approaches its conclusion. His tally of 12 Premier League goals is remarkable for a player of his age, and he comes into this clash in particularly impressive form. He scored against Chelsea last weekend despite only featuring for the final 12 minutes, not too long after scoring a brace against Liverpool at the Amex. 

The reverse fixture back in October was one to remember for Welbeck, as he scored twice, including the 84th minute winner, to earn his side all three points at the Amex. He should once again be looking forward to this matchup, especially considering how poor Newcastle’s recent form has been.

Eddie Howe will be able to call upon Joelinton again, after he served his two-game suspension for accumulating too many yellow cards. His Brazilian compatriot Bruno Guimaraes will also be available, after he started against Arsenal last weekend for the first time since recovering from injury. The Brazilian pair are usually amongst the fouls, making the cards market stand out even more, but Guimaraes has also been excellent for drawing free-kicks in the middle of the park. In fact, he was fouled three times against Arsenal last time out, and even managed to draw two free-kicks against Bournemouth before that, despite only featuring for the final 30 minutes off the bench. 

The Brazilian is one of the most effective midfielders in the Premier League when it comes to drawing contact, and he is averaging 3.14 fouls drawn per 90 in the league this season when playing on Tyneside. 

Guimaraes also landed this bet in the reverse fixture against Brighton back in September with five foul involvements - two committed and three drawn, which shows how this is a good matchup for him.