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This Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? You can make your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"I beat 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.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so beating 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 the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent 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 hunch they 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
All the talk 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 apologises.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back too.
The Merseysiders 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 Fantasy Premier League side, 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 Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
With the exception of their brilliant 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 tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
