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The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented 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 forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is used in the leaderboards at the end of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
A group of eight 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 FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"I beat 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired 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 is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's focus 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders 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 Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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.
The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
