Paul Dummett has missed Newcastle last two games, but should return to face Brighton.
Rafa Benitez confirmed in is pre-match press conference that the full-back is available, which will be music to the ears of Newcastle fans.
Dummett has trained throughout the international break, having withdrawn from Ryan Giggs’ Wales squad.
In his absence, we’ve seen Kenedy and Javi Manquillo slot in on the left side of defence, but neither were as good as Dummett.
His return from injury is good news for Newcastle, who will be looking to get their first win of the season.
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Can Dummett guide Newcastle to victory?
While the local lad is hardly going to be a match winner, he will be key in neutralising Brighton’s attacking threat.
He will likely come up against French winger Anthony Knockaert, who can often be a handful for defenders.
Knockaert is direct and tricky, which can often cause full-backs a lot of problems. But Dummett is competent in one-on-one situations.
If it were Kenedy or Manquillo at left-back, Knockaert could have a field day, which would allow him to put chances on a plate for the in-form Glenn Murray.
It’s very rare that a winger can get the best of Dummett nowadays, which is a far cry from his early Newcastle performances.
Scoring goals has been the problem for the Magpies, but they did just that at Old Trafford and still lost. Defensive lapses cost them against Manchester United, and we can’t afford to see anymore this weekend.
Florian Lejeune aside, we should have our strongest defence against Brighton, which means we have a strong base to hopefully get the result we need.