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The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by 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 football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
The final eight competitors 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 global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is always 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 job and there is an opportunity 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.
"In my opinion he is the number one 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
The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager 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 potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
The Blues have failed to 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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
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 ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
All the talk 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 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 hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.
The Merseysiders 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'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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Apart from their superb 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.
I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness 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 bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
