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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their scores? You can make your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got 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 imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"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 getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team.
Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea 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.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool 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 included for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
It's fair to say 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 vulnerable at the back too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Apart from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, 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
