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Key events
Team news
They line up thusly, and Isak plays in a strong-looking home starting XI:
Newcastle: Dubravka; Livramento, Schär, Burn, Trippier, Miley, Tonali, Joelinton, Barnes, Isak, Gordon. Subs: Pope, Wilson, Targett, Krafth, Osula, Murphy, Willock, Longstaff, Guimaraes.
Brighton: Verbruggen, Lamptey, van Hecke, Webster, Estupiñán, Baleba, Hinshelwood, Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma, João Pedro. Subs: Thomas McGill, March, Gruda, Adingra, Cashin, Gomez, Ayari, Wieffer, Welbeck.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Preamble
Afternoon everyone. And welcome to MBM coverage from the sixth of the eight FA Cup ties sprawled over a long weekend. As I argued when talking about Bournemouth the other day, there has rarely been such an opportunity for one of the Premier League’s mid-ranking and not-quite-elite clubs to claim the Cup this season. Though whether Newcastle are ready to seize it is moot. Eddie Howe’s side have a League Cup final looming in a fortnight against a Liverpool side that schooled them in midweek, and the Toon’s FA Cup record in the 70 years since they last won it has not been a thing of glory. They need to be careful with injuries too and Alexander Isak, a Premier League player of the season contender, may not be risked today having sat out the trip to Anfield with groin knack. We’ll find out shortly.
Brighton, by contrast, have a presentable recent record in the Cup, beaten semi-finallists twice in the past six years and enjoying an upturn in form that has them eyeing both the League and the Cup route to a Europa League place next term. They should be contemplating, in the words of the song, going up to win the Cup for Sussex by the sea.
Wherever this tie figures in the clubs’ pecking order, both in their different ways have shown themselves capable of engrossing football in recent weeks so have it in them to lay on a proper Cup tie this afternoon. Let’s have it.
Kick-off: 1.45pm GMT.
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