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This Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 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 YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the end of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach with me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.
"I beat Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over 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
Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will win this match because they are at home and they are due a win.
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'll be at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted 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 shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for the club 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 back 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 tough one.
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 quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.
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
The Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from 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.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 top transfers and warrants praise too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
