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Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

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

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

For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

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

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

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.

Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, playing 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.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.

"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a potent team.

Their key midfielders are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

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

Chelsea haven't 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 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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

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

The media 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.

One might suggest 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 exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

Aside 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.

It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Everyone 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 deserves some attention too.

I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture