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The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority 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," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, the public and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? You can make your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the tables at the end of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an opportunity 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.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired 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 is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well 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 likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will emerge victorious because they are at home and they are due a win.
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 interesting 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 after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
All the talk 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 attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
One might suggest it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - but I do fancy 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 week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from 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.
The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
