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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive 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 Sunderland play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making 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 faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? Share your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the leaderboards at the end of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.
"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 never beaten 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 delivers a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against Arsenal 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.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic 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 return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will win this match because they are at home and they are in need of three points.
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 great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool 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 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 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.
Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - but I do think they can 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 let their lead slip away late on.
With the exception of their excellent 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.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Many pundits 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 best acquisitions and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
