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This Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?

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

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

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

For the upcoming matchday, 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, Instagram 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 predictions? Share your own predictions below.

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

Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 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 qualification rounds.

Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I am 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 actual footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.

"I defeated 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.

"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

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

So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a dangerous team.

Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will take this one 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 reintegrated is if he apologises.

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

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 quite open too.

Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

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

The Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

Apart from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

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

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.

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