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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, 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 European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the tables at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
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 prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so beating 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 impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will win this match 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but fundamentally 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 formation and two up top.
All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
You could argue 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 quite open too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts 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 probably lose now - 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 Wearside club have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Apart from their excellent 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.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
