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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, fans and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 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 the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably 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 go into this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"I defeated 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
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 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 interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation 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 focus 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 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 energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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
Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, 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 factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
