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This Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised 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 video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the end of this page.
A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline 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 successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted 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 remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"I beat 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
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 really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to 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 overdue a victory.
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'm attending this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 reintegrated 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 drained them.
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
The Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves 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 poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
