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This Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, the public and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this field 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so defeating 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
The Blues were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders 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 logical prediction would likely 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 Chelsea will win this match 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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have 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 nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
It's fair to say 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.
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 put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from their superb 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 trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated 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 superb, 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
