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

"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a variety 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 recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their forecasts? You can make your own guesses below.

The most popular scoreline selected for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.

"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

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

Premier League Weekend Preview

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 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 overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a threatening team.

Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.

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

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling 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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible 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 taken out of them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Apart from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

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

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

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

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