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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a variety of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place 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 the national team's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their forecasts? You can make your own guesses below.

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

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted 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 stated. "I've got a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.

"I overcame 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you 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 got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were beaten physically 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 is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a potent team.

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

Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 the Reds.

I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff 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 bias in his team selection.

They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.

All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.

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

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 vulnerable at the back too.

The Merseysiders 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 have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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

Sunderland 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.

Apart from their brilliant 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 key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal 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.

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