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Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, the public and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is used in the tables at the end of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, 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. Naturally 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, wearing the Three Lions 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
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 secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
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 manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will take this one 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.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win 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 at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
All the talk 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 apologises.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
One might suggest 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 vulnerable at the back 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 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 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 superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
