The Seagulls and Magpies have been swapping positions at the head of the standings for months and it's hard to see anything between the division’s two standout sides.
Brighton are 31/20 favourites to pick up the three points and Newcastle are the outsiders for the first time this season in the Sky Bet Championship to win at 11/5.
It’s tempting to throw some support the way of the Magpies but my instinct is to go with the draw at 23/10 given the state of play in the second tier of English football.
Brighton and Newcastle are six and five points clear respectively of third-placed Huddersfield, who don’t play in the league during midweek as they have an FA Cup replay to contend with at Manchester City.
A draw wouldn’t be a reason for either side to panic. Leeds are a further four points behind Huddersfield so realistically it’s only the Terriers who have any chance of catching the top two.
Newcastle drew at Norwich in their last away game, a tough test as the Canaries had won their last four home matches in the league leading up to that clash, and that should have Rafael Benitez’s men in good shape for their long trip south.
Brighton eased to a 3-0 win at home to Reading on Saturday evening but they’ve drawn two of their last five outings, against Brentford and Ipswich, and their form in the last six weeks has dropped off from their sensational final three months of 2016, when Chris Hughton’s men didn’t lose in 13 games.
Newcastle won 2-0 in the first meeting between these sides way back in August but I don’t put too much stock in that given the extra pressure on this midweek encounter.
Backing the draw and both teams to score at 4/1 is worthy of consideration but I’m going to stick with just the draw at 23/10.
It’s far from impossible that these sides completely cancel each other out and don’t be shocked if Benitez adopts a more cautious approach given the continuing absence of star striker Dwight Gayle.
Prediction: Brighton 1-1 Newcastle