Brighton skipper Lewis Dunk is targeting a top half finish ahead of Saturday’s trip to Newcastle. Brighton returned to winning ways against Champions League chasing Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium last weekend to move them up to 11th in the table. Another positive result at St James’ Park would boost Albion’s chances of finishing in the top half. “Now we want to finish the season strongly and hopefully get into the top half and this win [against Villa] puts us on the right track,” Dunk said. “We have missed this feeling. It’s been a long time and we’ve not been good enough in recent weeks. It’s been a tough period, but we have stuck together.” Head coach Roberto De Zerbi could make a couple of tweaks ahead the Newcastle match and here’s how Albion could line-up in the north east...
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Roberto De Zerbi, Manager of Brighton & Hove Albion, could tweak his line-up to face Newcastle this weekend Photo: Mike Hewitt
2. Bart Verbruggen - GK
A good clean sheet against Villa last time out and should keep his spot ahead of ex-Sunderland man Jason Steele Photo: Bryn Lennon
3. Joel Veltman - RB
The defender looked good against Villa and should start here as Tariq Lamptey, James Milner and Jack Hinshelwood remain sidelined Photo: Bryn Lennon
4. Lewis Dunk - CB
The skipper will need to be at his best against very dangerous Newcastle attack Photo: Mike Hewitt