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Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, readers and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? Share your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"I overcame 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea 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'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 important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. 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 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 makes amends.
Slot's attention 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders 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 affected their stamina.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Black Cats have had the week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
