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Mitrovic, Baldock and Perez axed: Best combined Newcastle and Brighton XI
By Dominic Toner
Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sam Baldock and Ayoze Perez would be among the casualties of a starting line-up comprised of the best Newcastle and Brighton players.
The Magpies travel to league leaders Brighton on Tuesday night and are currently one point behind them.
Rafael Benitez’s side go into the match on the back of a 2-2 draw with relegation threatened Bristol City, while the Seagulls defeated play-off contenders Reading on Saturday.
Newcastle and Brighton have been the two standout teams in the Championship this season and both are on course to gain automatic promotion to the Premier League.
A combined XI between the two sides would creative an excellent line-up, with Newcastle players eding the selection with seven players.
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The attacking department is extremely strong, meaning the likes of Mitrovic, Baldock, Perez and Tomer Hemed don’t warrant a place in the starting XI.
Karl Darlow would just edge out David Stockdale in a tough battle for the goalkeeper postion, with the pair two of the best in the division.
Newcastle dominate the back four with DeAndre Yedlin, Jamaal Lascelles and Paul Dummett featuring alongside centre-back Lewis Dunk.
Two players with Premier League expereience Steve Sidwell and Jonjo Shelvey would start as the central midfield combination, with the latter looking different class in England’s second tier.
Meanwhile, the creative spark of the combined XI would come through Anthony Knockaert and Matt Ritchie.
The pair have returned a collective 22 goals and 16 assists so far this season across all competitions.
Newcastle talisman Dwight Gayle would be an automatic selection in the side and play next to Brighton’s target man Glenn Murray.
They have managed 36 league goals between them this campaign and have experience of top-flight football under their belts.
In other Newcastle news, the club’s supporters reacted to Jack Colback’s performance against Bristol City.
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