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This Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Share your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this job 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 throughout the year 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 gives you a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
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 I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss 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 dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will emerge victorious 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
They changed their formation 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
You could argue it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, 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 almost certainly blank - 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from their superb 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.
I am expecting that trend 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 incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing 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 next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
