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This Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – 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, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? Share your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, 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 with me and preparation has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the best player in the world so getting a win over 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
The Blues were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired 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 will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally 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 prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will take this one 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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
The media 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 attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so hard to predict. 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 exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - but I do fancy them to 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 Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Aside from 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 trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
