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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind 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 solid shot."

The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a range of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

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

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their predictions? You can make your own predictions below.

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.

A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "There's 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 professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity 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 recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling 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 am at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

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

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

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 hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back too.

Liverpool 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 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 let their lead slip away late on.

With the exception of 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.

I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, 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