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Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public 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 official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty 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 getting through the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, 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 turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of form 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 hunch they will take this one 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 interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club 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.
All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of their superb 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.
It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing 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 next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
