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The weekend brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats 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, never mind being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."

He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

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

Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 points.

Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach alongside me and practice 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 real-life footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.

"I beat 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

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 possibly be challengers for the crown.

However, since that game, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

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

On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.

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

Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but fundamentally 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 formation 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 attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.

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 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 exertions 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 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.

With the exception of their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly 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.

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

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, 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