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This Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? You can make your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a $100,000 prize pool 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.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an chance 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 over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees 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.
On form you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will win this match 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 the Reds.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
It's fair to say 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 quite open too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I have whacked 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 Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside 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.
The pattern suggests that pattern 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 unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
