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This Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place 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 the official Twitch channel and YouTube 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 picked for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach with me and training has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.
"I beat 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 not previously defeated 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 gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will take this one 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'll be at this game and it will be intriguing 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 following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their shape 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 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 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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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
Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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 has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
