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The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, playing 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 remarked. "There's a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.
"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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
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 it seemed this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will win this match because they are at home and they are in need of three points.
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 important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
Everyone 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 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 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 taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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
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.
Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone 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 signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
