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This Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their scores? Share your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"I overcame Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will emerge victorious because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.
Sutton's prediction: 2-1
Stingray's prediction: With this being at the Bridge, I am going to back Chelsea. I think they will start off really well and go 2-0 up, then Everton will nick one back but then Chelsea score late. 3-1
AI's prediction: 2-0
Liverpool vs Brighton
Anfield, 15:00 GMT
I'll be at this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do think they can get something at Anfield.
Sutton's prediction: 2-2
Stingray's prediction: This is a game which is going to give Liverpool a bit more of their confidence back. Obviously they had a good win in midweek and they can build more momentum here. 2-1
AI's prediction: 3-1
Sunday, 14 December
Sunderland vs Newcastle
Stadium of Light, 14:00 GMT
The Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
