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The weekend sees the inaugural 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 the Wearside club getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing 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 stated. "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. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"I overcame 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 gives you a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were impressive 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 potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, 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 Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool 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 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 difficult fixture.
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 efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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
The Black Cats 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.
Aside from their excellent 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.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
