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This Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans 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 national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG 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 scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "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 dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"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 always lost to 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 gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will win this match 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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win 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 ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup 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 apologises.
Slot's attention 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 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've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Apart from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that pattern 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 energetic style.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
