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The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, readers and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, 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. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an opportunity 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 throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat 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 Toffees are such a potent team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they 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 intriguing 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 controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
All the talk 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 makes amends.
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 quite open 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 taken out of them.
I've selected 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
The Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Apart from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly 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 factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Commentators 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 top transfers and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
