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This Sunday brings the first 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 being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, fans and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship 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 England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their predictions? You can make your own projections below.
The fan-favourite 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. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach with me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
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 going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly 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 really needs a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea 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'm attending 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 crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but essentially 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 and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he makes amends.
Slot's focus 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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put 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 benefit of a free week 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.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Commentators 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 should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
