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The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is used in the scoreboards at the end of this page.
A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach with me and training 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 professional footballer, but when you go into this field 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 recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will take this one 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 interesting 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 after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation 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 brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
You could argue 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.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do fancy them to 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 be pegged back late on.
Apart from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
It was evident how relentless 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 phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
