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Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official 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 YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"I beat 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will take this one 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating 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 controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal 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 back 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 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 quite open too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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 Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back 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.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
