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The weekend sees the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a real chance."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? You can make your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is used in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach alongside me 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 real-life footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.
"I defeated 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.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically 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 restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely 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 gut instinct 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 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 following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool 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.
The media 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 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 hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open 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 drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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
Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Apart 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 fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal 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 should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
