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This Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.
"I beat 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 gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
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 is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not 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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff 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.
They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 reintegrated is if he makes amends.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
You could argue 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.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts 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 probably lose now - 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 Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Apart from their brilliant 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.
It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Commentators 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 best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
