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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats 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, never mind being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a variety 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 formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after 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 said. "I've got a really good coach by my side 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 actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.
"I overcame Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances 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 real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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 am at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but at its core 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
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 defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders 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 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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Commentators 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 best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
