Brighton v Newcastle preview
LuaLua in contention for Seagulls as Toon wait on skipper
Last Updated: January 27, 2012 11:19am
Gus Poyet: Searching for an FA Cup shock at home to Newcastle
Brighton will be out to cause an FA Cup shock when they entertain Newcastle at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
The Seagulls needed a replay and then penalties to overcome non-league Wrexham in the third round but will now be relishing their status as underdogs against the Magpies.
Gus Poyet's side have also hit a good run of form in the past few weeks, having won three straight Championship games to boost their play-off hopes.
Newcastle suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat against Fulham in their most recent Premier League outing but have enjoyed a great season so far and will be setting their sights on FA Cup glory.
Alan Pardew's men saw off top-flight rivals Blackburn 2-1 at St James' Park in the previous round.
Team news
Brighton winger Kazenga LuaLua could return from injury to face his former club.
LuaLua, who joined the Seagulls permanently in November following three successful loan spells on the South Coast, is back in training having spent three weeks out with a hamstring problem.
Fellow winger Craig Noone is also close to returning from a hamstring injury and Spanish midfielder Vicente Rodriguez could make his first appearance since mid-October following a thigh problem.
But full-back Marcos Painter misses out after suffering a recurrence of his hamstring injury just six minutes into his comeback at Peterborough on Saturday.
Defender Tommy Elphick (Achilles) and midfielder Gary Dicker (broken leg) are still recovering from long-term injuries.
Newcastle skipper Fabricio Coloccini is a doubt after tweaking his groin in training on Thursday and will be assessed before manager Pardew makes a decision on him.
Strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse remain on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal, but are expected to return early next week, while defender Steven Taylor (Achilles) and midfielders Sylvain Marveaux (groin) and Sammy Ameobi (knee) are still on the long-term casualty list, although all are making progress.
