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This Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging 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 makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok 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 fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the foot of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"I beat Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
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 I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss 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.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they 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'm attending 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 crucial result 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 Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool 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 selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
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 vulnerable at the back too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts 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 almost certainly blank - 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
Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
With the exception of 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.
I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
