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This Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, competing 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 am feeling 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. Of course 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 defeated 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down 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 outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, 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 gut instinct Chelsea 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 am at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 says sorry.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
One might suggest 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 winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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
Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that pattern 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.
It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with 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
