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The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."

The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a variety of guests.

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

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

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

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

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

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.

"I defeated 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.

"For me he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.

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 boss 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.

Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will win this match because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.

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 the Reds.

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

Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally 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.

Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.

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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open 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 put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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

Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves 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 poor, especially 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 factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.

This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture