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Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a variety 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 official esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place 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 YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is featured in the tables at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"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.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
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 being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club 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.
Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they 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'm attending this game and it will be fascinating 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 discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core 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 and two up top.
All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected 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 challenging encounter.
One might suggest it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
With the exception of 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.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered 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 next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
