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This Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Share your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is featured in the tables at the foot of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.
"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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could possibly 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 boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea 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'll be at this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their shape 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 brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
It's fair to say 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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool 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 have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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
Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of their excellent 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.
The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
