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The weekend sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a variety of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is used in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing 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 coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is always 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 enter this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"I defeated 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask 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 a positive run at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
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 overdue a victory.
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 was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias 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 focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
It's fair to say 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 defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I put 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
Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from their excellent 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.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
