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The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans and a variety of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by 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 football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

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

The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom 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 Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and training 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 actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.

"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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost 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 secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.

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

Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent 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 hunch Chelsea will take this one because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.

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 am at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but fundamentally 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 and two up top.

Everyone 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 makes amends.

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

You could argue 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 stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I have whacked 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

Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Apart from their excellent 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 fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

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

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

I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture