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This Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, readers 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 national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held 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.
Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is featured in the tables at the end 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 Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted 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. "There's a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"I beat Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will emerge victorious because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.
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'm attending this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon 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 tactical setup 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 brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's attention 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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
The Wearside club have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Aside from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
