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Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Share your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, vying 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 looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably 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 field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"I overcame 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"I believe 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 got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that drama. 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.
They 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 selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
It's fair to say 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 energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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
The Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
With the exception of 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.
The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
