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The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority 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," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch 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.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"I overcame 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over 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 earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
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 restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will emerge victorious 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'll be at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is included 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 difficult fixture.
It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. 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 affected their stamina.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - but I do fancy them to 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Aside from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated 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 superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
