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Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a range 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 official esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur 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 its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the end of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a six-figure prize fund 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 remarked. "There's a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so beating 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 London club were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally 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.
The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he makes amends.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
You could argue 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 stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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 benefit of a free week 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, especially 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 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 bullied 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 excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
