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This Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their predictions? Share your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, 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.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach with me and training has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"I overcame 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so defeating 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
Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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 crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
Everyone 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 apologises.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
You could argue 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.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Aside from their excellent 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.
It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Many pundits 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 best acquisitions and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
