Graham Potter has warned his Brighton players not to take Newcastle lightly in their Premier League clash at St James’ Park.
The Seagulls conceded a late equaliser against Burnley last weekend in a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium, which denied the Seagulls a first home win since March.
But they have already recorded two wins on the road in all competitions this season – on the opening day against Watford and at Bristol Rovers in the Carabao Cup.
Potter is determined to take that tally to three on Saturday but is wary of the threat posed by Newcastle and has urged his players to give the clash their full focus.
“The next game should always be the most important, that’s how we view it,” Potter said at a press conference reported by Sky Sports.
“We certainly don’t go in there thinking ‘this is not Man City, so it’s going to be easy or we’ve got more of a chance.’
“You just have to play your game and do your best. The opposition can cause you problems in the Premier League wherever you go.”
The Magpies currently sit third from bottom with one win from their five matches so far – which came away at Tottenham – but Potter expects his side to come up against a tough atmosphere.
“They’ve got good players, St James’ Park is a hostile place and the crowd will get behind them and they will want to use that in a positive way,” Potter added.
After starting their season with a resounding 3-0 win at Watford, Brighton have struggled to deliver similar performances.
Potter admits allowing their lead to slip against Burnley hurt his side but believes there are positives to take as they try to improve.
“The previous match was tough against a team that it’s hard to create chances against, hard to control, and I thought we managed the game quite well,” he said.
“It was obviously disappointing not get the three points but that’s the nature of the Premier League.
“Every game is a different one that provides a real test and we just have to try and keep improving.”
Leandro Trossard remains sidelined for Brighton but Martin Montoya is available for selection after missing the Burnley game through illness.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ezequiel Schelotto and Leon Balogun will miss out due to injuries while Bernardo has an outside chance of playing.
