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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by 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 football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side 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 represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted 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 stated. "I have a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"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 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 gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory 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 legend for the club but essentially 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 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 brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.
Slot's attention 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 defensively susceptible 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 affected their stamina.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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
Sunderland 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.
With the exception of their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
