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Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby since 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, much less being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, the public and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? You can make your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the end of this page.
A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw 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 beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy 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 a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to 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 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 Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory 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 great for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their shape 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 selected 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 difficult fixture.
You could argue 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 quite open too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back 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.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
