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This Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans 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 England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their predictions? You can make your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the foot 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 his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
A group of eight 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 world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me 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 professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"I defeated 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 best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't 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 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'm attending this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool 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 reintegrated 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 vulnerable at the back too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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 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.
Aside from 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 pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering 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 phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
