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Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"I overcame 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.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they 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'm attending this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
You could argue 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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Wearside club 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 superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered 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 excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
