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Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, fans and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur 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.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? Share your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"I beat 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 top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection 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 got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will take this one because they are at home and they are in need of three points.
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 interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 apologises.
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 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 exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I've selected 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard 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, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw 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 next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
