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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? Share your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"I overcame 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge 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 got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably 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 feeling 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy 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 no bias in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
Everyone 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 apologises.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
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 defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Black Cats have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Aside from their brilliant 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.
I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
