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The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their scores? You can make your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing 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.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach alongside 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 professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.
"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 always lost to 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 delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of momentum 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'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will take this one 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 interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
It was great to see 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 should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
The media 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 says sorry.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
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 stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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
The Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from 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.
The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing 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 best acquisitions and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
