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This Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive 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 leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur 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.
Do you agree with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking 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 turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, 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 hunch they 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 interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted 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 distraction. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 reintegrated is if he makes amends.
Slot's attention 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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of 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 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' energetic style.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Commentators 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 best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
