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Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? You can make your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the tables at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.
"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will win this match because they are at home and they are in need of three points.
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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool 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 reintegrated is if he says sorry.
Slot's focus 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.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - but I do fancy them to 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 Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
It was evident 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 brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
