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Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less 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 genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, 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 EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the tables at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably 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 go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"I overcame 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible 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 hunch Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 intriguing 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 stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their shape 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 reintegrated is if he says sorry.
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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool 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 have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - but I do think they can 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
With the exception of their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly 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 factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone 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 top transfers and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
