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The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours 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 YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach with me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field 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 over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will take this one 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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. 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.
Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
You could argue 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 quite open too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 Wearside club have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard 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 inconsistent, especially 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 significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, 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
