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The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a real chance."

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – 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.

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

Are you in alignment with their scores? Share your own projections below.

The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the foot of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.

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

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

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.

"I beat 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.

"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous 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 Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will win this match 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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Slot ought not 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 and two up top.

All the talk 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 primary concern 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 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 winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I put 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 Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside from their excellent 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.

It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.

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