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Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a real chance."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by 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 gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram 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 predictions? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the tables at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious 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 alongside me and training has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an chance 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 recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they 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 fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.
I am really pleased 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 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 nothing personal in his team selection.
They 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
You could argue 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.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do fancy 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 week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 signings of the season and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
