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Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against 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 gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.
"I overcame 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match 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 interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias 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 selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
One might suggest 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.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained 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
Sunderland 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.
With the exception of their brilliant 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.
I am expecting that trend 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 dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
