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The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

Do you agree with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the end of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.

"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.

"For me he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly 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 manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

On form you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they 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 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 shouldn't need 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.

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 says sorry.

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

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 quite open 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 put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially 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 significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

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

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal 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 deserves some attention too.

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