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This Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted 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 campaign, 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 competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their predictions? You can make your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.
"I overcame 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.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of 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 at the top of their game and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling 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 crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally 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 formation 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 says sorry.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
One might suggest 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 defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests 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' high press.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
