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The weekend brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."

He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.

The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.

A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline 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 qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.

"I beat 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss 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 threatening team.

Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason 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'm attending this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.

I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

Liverpool 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 included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.

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.

Liverpool 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 put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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.

With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly 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 factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture