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The weekend sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur 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 its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own predictions below.
The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"I defeated 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion 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
The London club were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a potent team.
Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch 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'll be at this game and it will be interesting 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 essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's focus 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 mercurial. 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 exertions 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 Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
