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The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram 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 guesses below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the tables at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious 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 said. "There's a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"I overcame 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.
"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so defeating 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
Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because Everton 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.
Current evidence suggests you would probably 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 hunch they will emerge victorious 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'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 stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. 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.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 makes amends.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
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 defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders 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 likely do poorly - 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
Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Apart from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
