'Destroyed': Paul Merson makes huge claim about Newcastle United as he predicts score against Brighton
Newcastle United take on Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday in a non-televised 3 pm kick-off.
It's a return to the Premier League after two weeks off, and Newcastle will be hoping to pick up where they left off after comfortably beating Nottingham Forest last time out.
However, Newcastle's record at the Amex is a bit of a stinker, with wins very hard to come by in recent years.
This game has a score draw written all over it as both sides are often evenly matched, and things don't tend to go Newcastle's way on the south coast.
Paul Merson sees the points being shared on Saturday
Clearly, Paul Merson is thinking the same thing as he can't separate the two sides in his prediction for Sportskeeda, although the former England forward is sticking by his story that Arsenal battered Newcastle a couple of weeks ago, which we definitely don't agree with.
"Brighton have turned a corner now. I would say Newcastle are also starting to find a bit of rhythm. I thought Arsenal destroyed Newcastle even though it was just 2-1. But they have bounced back quite well after that loss, scoring six goals and conceding none in the next two games since then.
"Nick Woltemade has done really well at Newcastle. It was an absolutely unbelievable penalty from him against Forest last time out. If you put the ball in the box, he will score goals. It's as simple as that. Woltemade's a big lad, a real handful and he couldn't have started any better in my opinion. When you go to a club like Newcastle, you have to start well and he has settled in quicker than snow!
"This will be a decent game to watch because Brighton have managed to get some results in really difficult games recently. I feel these two teams are very similar to each other. So it's tough to pick a clear winner here.
"Prediction: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Newcastle United"
Newcastle can take advantage of a battered and bruised Brighton
We really need to start turning our draws into wins, and picking up a rare win at Brighton would certainly give the lads a springboard to go on a run between now and the next international break.
Brighton have been pretty badly hit with injuries, which gives Newcastle a bit of an edge.
That being said, our squad is hardly healthy either, so who knows? It could go either way on this one.
