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This Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public and a variety 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 official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream 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 incredible.
"I overcame 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.
"For me he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, 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 get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating 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 controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. 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.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's focus 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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts 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 probably lose now - 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
Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
With the exception of their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, 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 unwavering 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 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.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
