Opta supercomputer drops Brighton vs Newcastle United prediction in Premier League return

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Opta have made their prediction for the Premier League fixture between Brighton vs Newcastle United.

The October international break is nearly concluded, with a final round of fixtures – including vital World Cup qualifiers – to be played in the early stages of this week before club football can resume.

The pause in play couldn’t have been timed worse for Newcastle United, who were just starting to hit their stride after a tough start with dominant victories over Union SG and Nottingham Forest.

Some players have continued their good form, with Anthony Gordon impressing for England and Bruno Guimaraes shining for Brazil, but others have struggled.

Julian Nagelsmann had to defend Nick Woltemade from criticism after he failed to score again for Germany, while Dan Burn, Joelinton and Anthony Elanga didn’t get off the bench for their countries.

Eddie Howe will just be hoping the rest of his players get home unscathed after Lewis Miley had to pull out of the England U21 squad as a precaution.

Newcastle face tricky opposition in Brighton in their return to Premier League action and the Opta supercomputer has given its verdict.

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Brighton vs Newcastle United prediction

Newcastle have a great record following international breaks, winning nine of 14 such fixtures since Howe took charge.

They defeated Wolves 1-0 after the September break, though they lost when they played Brighton at the exact same point a year ago.

Brighton have turned into a bogey side for Newcastle in recent years, with the Magpies not winning the fixture since May 2023 after five attempts.

Former winger Yankuba Minteh is proving to be troublesome for Howe’s side after scoring against them twice last season.

As a result of their strong record, Opta has predicted that Brighton will win the game and have a 38% chance of doing so.

They’ve given Newcastle a 35.5% chance of winning, leaving a draw with a chance of 26.5%.

With both sides sitting on nine points in the Premier League table, it’s the game that Opta have found toughest to call over the weekend’s fixtures.

Opta supercomputer predicts where Newcastle United will finish the season

As well as fixtures, Opta’s supercomputer is constantly using its algorithm to predict how the Premier League table will look come May.

Despite a challenging start to the season, in which they have picked up three fewer points than at the same point a year ago, Opta predicts Newcastle will finish the season in sixth place.

That’s what Opta predicted before the season began, but there has been a lot of change around the Toon.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	7	3	3	1	9	5	4	12
7	ChelseaChelsea	7	3	2	2	13	9	4	11
8	EvertonEverton	7	3	2	2	9	7	2	11
9	SunderlandSunderland	7	3	2	2	7	6	1	11
10	Manchester UnitedManchester United	7	3	1	3	9	11	-2	10
11	NewcastleNewcastle	7	2	3	2	6	5	1	9
12	BrightonBrighton	7	2	3	2	10	10	0	9
13	Aston VillaAston Villa	7	2	3	2	6	7	-1	9
14	FulhamFulham	7	2	2	3	8	11	-3	8
15	LeedsLeeds	7	2	2	3	7	11	-4	8

It’s now predicted that Arsenal will win the table instead of Liverpool, while Crystal Palace have leapfrogged Newcastle into fifth.

Aston Villa were initially placed there but have dropped all the way to 13th. Local rivals Sunderland are predicted to finish 9th, and Leeds United are also touted to survive, with Burnley, West Ham and Wolves going down.

In the Champions League, Opta thinks Newcastle will finish 11th out of 36 teams after two fixtures.