Hurzeler: Brighton have set the benchmark after dominant win over Chelsea

Fabian Hurzeler has challenged his Brighton team not to fall below the benchmark set by their 3-0 victory over Chelsea for the final four games of their Premier League season.

Brighton extended their winning run in the top flight over Chelsea to three matches last time out, with Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck all on target.

It was a win that not only moved the Seagulls up to sixth in the Premier League, but also marked the end of Liam Rosenior’s 107-day tenure with the Blues.

Hurzeler’s men are now in the driving seat to secure a return to European competition for the first time since 2023-24, when they reached the last 16 of the Europa League.

Brighton make the trip to St. James’ Park to take on out-of-form Newcastle United on Saturday, and Hurzeler wants his team to maintain the standards set against Chelsea.

“It was definitely one of the best. We weren’t good only in possession, but also out of possession. We defended quite well,” Hurzeler said of his team’s win over the Blues.

“In the second half there were some tight moments, there were some good patterns from Chelsea as well, but overall, we were very alive.

“We defended set pieces well – the small things we were really good at. It was one of the most complete performances of the season and that sets the benchmark quite high.

“That’s where I will also judge the players. Keep doing the small things right, because you have to do these things well if you want to win a Premier League game.”

Four in a row. pic.twitter.com/csnbOqY0RQ

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) April 24, 2026

Newcastle, meanwhile, see their fading hopes of clinching a European spot hanging by a thread after they lost 1-0 to Premier League leaders Arsenal in their last league match.

Eberechi Eze’s ninth-minute stunner was the difference at Emirates Stadium, though the Magpies had their chances to take a point, most notably when Yoane Wissa fired over the crossbar after being brilliantly picked out by Nick Woltemade.

It’s been a difficult first season for both Wissa and Woltemade since their big-money arrivals in the summer, with the pair registering just 18 goal involvements (14 for Woltemade, four for Wissa) across all competitions this season.

Reports earlier this week have even suggested that Newcastle will explore selling Wissa less than a year on from his £50m switch from Brentford, though Eddie Howe is confident that the striker, along with Woltemade, will come good for the club.

“They’re both outstanding players. I don’t in any way doubt their individual qualities. They’ll both be better for this season’s experience next season,” Howe said.

“Next season we’ll see that all the new signings that we integrated this season will be much better for the experience.

“And, of course, then the intense focus shifts onto someone else we may have signed in the summer.

“That’s a healthy thing for them because you just go slightly more relaxed, and when you’re more relaxed you play better. I believe in all those signings. They’ll come good.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Newcastle – Nick Woltemade

Woltemade scored seven goals in his first 14 Premier League appearances for Newcastle, averaging a goal every 157 minutes with a shot conversion rate of 27%.

However, he has now failed to score in his last 16 appearances for the Magpies, though he’s played just 597 minutes and had just five shots in this run.

Brighton – Danny Welbeck

Welbeck is enjoying his best goalscoring season in the Premier League with 13 goals, and he will be keen to pile more misery on Newcastle having played for rivals Sunderland.

Only six players have scored more in a campaign while aged 34+, most recently Cristiano Ronaldo (18) for Manchester United and Jamie Vardy (15) for Leicester City in 2021-22.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE WIN

Despite being favoured by the Opta supercomputer, Newcastle have won just two of their 17 Premier League games against Brighton (D8 L7), though both victories have come at home (2-1 in March 2022, 4-1 in May 2023).

And Howe’s men are in desperate need of a win. Newcastle have lost 16 top-flight games this season, with seven coming at St James’ Park. Both are their highest number of defeats in a campaign since 2020-21 (17 overall, eight at home).

Newcastle have also lost their last four league games, with a 1-0 loss at Arsenal following three consecutive 2-1 defeats. They last lost five in a row in January 2021, while only Wolves between May and August 2021 have ever had five successive one-goal defeats in the Premier League.

The Magpies have dropped a league-high 25 points from winning positions in the top flight this season, their second most in a single campaign after 2004-05 (31).

Following their 2-1 win in October, Brighton are looking to complete their second Premier League double over Newcastle after 2020-21.

The Seagulls arrive with confidence, too. They have won six of their last eight league games (D1 L1), as many as in their previous 23 (D9 L8). They have scored at least twice in each of their last four, last doing so in five in a row between February and March 2025.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Newcastle – 40.1%

Draw – 26.6%

Brighton – 33.3%