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The weekend sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, the public and a range of guests.

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

Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own guesses below.

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

A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

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

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously 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, putting the shirt on is something incredible.

"I overcame 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the number one in the world so getting a win over 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 impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

In the matches following, 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 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.

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

Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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 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 should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

They changed their formation 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 makes amends.

Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.

You could argue it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back 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 affected their stamina.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - but I do fancy them to 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 battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Aside 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 trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.

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