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This Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (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 entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"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.
"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over 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 Blues were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will emerge victorious 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'll be at this game and it will be intriguing 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 following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 challenging encounter.
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 quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard 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 hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests 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 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 phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
