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Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less 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 campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal 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 YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their scores? You can make your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have 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 real-life footballer, but when you enter 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 recently 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 beating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent 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 take this one 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.
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 drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 reintegrated 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 hard to predict. 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 efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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 Wearside club have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
With the exception of their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor 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 phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
