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The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.

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

He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, 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 recognised esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

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

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is used in the tables at the foot of this page.

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction 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 passing the qualifying.

Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.

"I beat Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a potent team.

Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

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

They have not 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'll be 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 important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not 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 ulterior motive in his team selection.

They changed their tactical setup 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 included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.

Slot's attention 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 defensively susceptible too.

Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their energy spent 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 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

The Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

Aside from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

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

Many pundits 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 best acquisitions and warrants praise too.

All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture