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This Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."

He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, readers and a range of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch 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.

Are you in alignment with their forecasts? You can make your own guesses below.

The most commonly selected scoreline selected 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 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.

A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.

"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 beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton 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.

They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

It was great to see 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 distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

Liverpool 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 included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.

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 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 efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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

Sunderland have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Apart from their brilliant 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.

I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

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

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

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