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Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, readers and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"I defeated 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.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club 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 potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent 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 gut instinct Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. 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 a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do fancy them to 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that trend 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 unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, 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
