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This Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority 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," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.

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

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

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

The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the foot of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.

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

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a six-figure prize fund 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'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "There's 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 professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance 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 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 getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.

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

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

The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will win this match because they are at home and they are due a win.

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'm attending 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 crucial result 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 legend for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

They 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 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 challenging encounter.

One might suggest 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 vulnerable at the back too.

Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Apart from their brilliant 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.

The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

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

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding 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 warrants praise too.

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