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The weekend heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, the public and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? You can make your own predictions below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match 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 the Reds.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
It's fair to say 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.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I have whacked 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 Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
With the exception of 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.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Everyone 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 top transfers and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
