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The weekend sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal 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 YouTube, 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 guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the end of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after 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 stated. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and practice 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 professional footballer, but when you enter 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 recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 intriguing 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 after all the controversy 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 at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation 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 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I put 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 Wearside club 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 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.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
