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The weekend brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, the public and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, 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 predictions? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "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. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"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 not previously defeated 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 gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding 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 possibly be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably 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 feeling Chelsea will take this one 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core 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 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 attention will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
One might suggest 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 drained them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - but I do fancy them to 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
With the exception of their brilliant 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.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
It was evident how incessant 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 brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
