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The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a real chance."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Share your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"Representing your country is 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 job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.
"I defeated 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 the Reds.
I was delighted 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 shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 makes amends.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
One might suggest it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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
Sunderland have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
With the exception of their superb 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.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
