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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is 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, in competition with AI, the public and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? You can make your own predictions below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is used in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, competing 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.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.
"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"I believe 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 Forecasts
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 being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match 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'm attending this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff 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.
Liverpool 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 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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open 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 affected their stamina.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from 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.
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 a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
