Newcastle vs Brighton & Hove Albion - Newcastle missing key strike duo

Posted Friday, August 26, 2016 by PA

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez will be without leading scorer Dwight Gayle and fellow forward Aleksandar Mitrovic for Saturday's Sky Bet Championship clash with Brighton.

Both men have been ruled out after suffering concussion during Tuesday night's 2-0 EFL Cup victory over Cheltenham - Mitrovic's first game back after serving a four-match ban - for which Benitez made eight changes.

Ayoze Perez, who opened his account with a double in midweek despite sustaining a cut to his ear, is available, but midfielder Rolando Aarons will miss out with a fractured metatarsal which is likely to sideline him for up to eight weeks.

Full-back DeAndre Yedlin could make his debut for the club after completing a B£5million switch from Tottenham with Daryl Janmaat having left for Watford, while Siem de Jong, Henri Saivet and Kevin Mbabu have all gone out on season-long loan deals this week.

Second-placed Brighton could be without reported Burnley target Dale Stephens who has missed the last two games through injury, with manager Chris Hughton unsure whether to recall him.Albion are struggling for defenders, with Liam Rosenior ruled out after he suffered an ankle injury in the draw with Reading last week.As a result, Bruno will fill in at right-back and either Rohan Ince or Uwe Huenemeier will partner Lewis Dunk in the middle.Anthony Knockaert is expected to start against one of the clubs reportedly interested in him this summer.