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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch 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.
Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is featured 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 forty 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 preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.
"I defeated 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the best player in the world so defeating 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 outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Toffees 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.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 fascinating 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 following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
Everyone 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 primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
You could argue 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.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 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.
Apart from 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.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to 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
