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The weekend heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the tables at the end of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.
"I beat 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team.
Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they 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 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 Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool 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 brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's primary concern 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 hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible 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 drained them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
With the exception of their excellent 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.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal 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 deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
