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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."

The analyst is providing 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 takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.

The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the end of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 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 passing the qualifying.

A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and training has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.

"I defeated 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 best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.

However, since that game, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat 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 return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.

I was delighted 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 nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but essentially 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.

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 reintegrated is if he makes amends.

Slot's focus 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.

The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I have whacked 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

The Wearside club have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing 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 best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture