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The weekend sees the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and holding their own 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 makes me think they've got a real chance."

The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their forecasts? You can make your own projections below.

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

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

Ray, who competes for 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 represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious 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 stated. "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. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the best player in the world so defeating 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 impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So manager 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 potent team.

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

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

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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

I was delighted 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 should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

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

The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.

Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.

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 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 drained them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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 Wearside club have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Aside from their superb 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 tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy 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 alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.

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