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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive 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 Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a range 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 EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

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

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

A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.

Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, competing 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.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and preparation 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 real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey 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 top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team.

Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.

On form you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

Chelsea haven't given me any good cause 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'll be at this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

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

The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.

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 mercurial. 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 taken out of them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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

The Wearside club have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to exert themselves 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.

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

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering 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 excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

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