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Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? Share your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.
Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after 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 stated. "I've got a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"I overcame 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.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea 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 Liverpool.
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 ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool 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 makes amends.
Slot's focus 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 vulnerable at the back too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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
The Black Cats have had the week off 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, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
