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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"I defeated 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge 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 secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will win this match because they are at home and they are in need of three points.
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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see 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 ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but fundamentally 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.
Everyone 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 primary concern 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 quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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 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 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.
I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant 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 should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
