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Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? You can make your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach alongside me and training 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 go into this field and there is an chance 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 throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over 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
The London club were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would likely 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 feeling Chelsea 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 am at this game and it will be intriguing 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 after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but essentially 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.
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 apologises.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
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 defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
With the exception of their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
