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Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, the public and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious 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. "There's a really good coach by my side and training 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 enter this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"I beat 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.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost 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 got a draw 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 overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't 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 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 great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup 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 says sorry.
Slot's focus 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.
Liverpool 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 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 be pegged back late on.
With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 top transfers and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
