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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

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

The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the end of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after 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 stated. "I have a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.

"I beat 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

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

So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a potent team.

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

Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.

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

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their shape 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 apologises.

Slot's primary concern 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 hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

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

It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

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

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

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