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Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title 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 TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the tables at the end of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an opportunity 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club 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 probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely 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 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
The media 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 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 a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I have whacked 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 Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser 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.
I am expecting that trend 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 high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied 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 superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
