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This Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are 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, against artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by 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 will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? Share your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach with me and training has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.
"I beat 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 not previously defeated 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 crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably 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 hunch 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 am 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 stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 says sorry.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
You could argue 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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
With the exception of their superb 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.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
We saw 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 phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to 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
