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This Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place 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 forecasts? Share your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions 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 fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him throughout the year 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 gives you a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, 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 get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match 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 am at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is included 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.
It's fair to say 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 defensively susceptible 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 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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Apart from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that pattern 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 overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
