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The weekend heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

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

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

Are you in alignment with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

The most commonly selected scoreline selected 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. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.

"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him over the course of the season 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 number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

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 secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly 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 head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a potent team.

Their key midfielders 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 logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will take this one because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.

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 the Reds.

I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.

The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.

Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.

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 a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard 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 hasn't been great, 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 energetic style.

It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated 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 in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.

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