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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, readers and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram 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 selected for each game is featured in the tables at the end of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted 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 said. "There's a really good coach by my side 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 enter this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions 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.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so defeating 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
The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will win this match 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 crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
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 quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I have whacked 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 Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with 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
