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Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against 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 national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
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 FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, 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 with me and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an opportunity 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 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.
"For me he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous 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 likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will emerge victorious 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 was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win 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 icon for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
The media 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 apologises.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
It's fair to say 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 defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, 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 probably lose now - 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Apart from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly 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 key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
We saw how relentless 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
