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Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach with 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 imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity 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 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 number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of 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 exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they 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'm attending this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.
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 should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive 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 brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
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 exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do think they can 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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Aside from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
