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This Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Share your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
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 I was thinking this is it, 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 won't be easy because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will win this match 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 Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. 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.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation 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 brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
It's fair to say 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 defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do think they can 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Apart from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
We saw 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 outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
