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This Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive 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 makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public and a variety 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 gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? Share your own predictions below.
The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation 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 actual footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.
"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.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to 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 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating 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 should not have to put up with that nonsense. 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 shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
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 a consistent run of form, 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 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
Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from their superb 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.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal 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 should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
