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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place 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 the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the tables at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
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 got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will take this one because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.
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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted 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 distraction. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but fundamentally 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.
The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
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 exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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 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 brilliant 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.
The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
