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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a assortment 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 EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? Share your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after 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 stated. "I have a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"I overcame 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.
"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to 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'll be 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 crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is included 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.
One might suggest it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - but I do fancy 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 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 has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
