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Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros 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 England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the end of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing 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 entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach alongside 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 enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions 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 best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost 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 I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will take this one because they are at home and they are due a win.
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 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 controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
They changed their formation 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 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 unpredictable. 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 efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
