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This Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? You can make your own predictions below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an opportunity 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match 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 fascinating 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 following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back 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 challenging encounter.
You could argue it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. 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 energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from their excellent 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.
The pattern suggests 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' high press.
It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered 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 alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
