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

"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

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

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

For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok 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 most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the tables at the foot of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 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 passing the qualifying.

A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach with 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 imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter 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 over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run 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 compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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'll be at 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 important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

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

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

The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.

Slot's focus 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back too.

Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.

I have whacked 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 Black Cats have had the week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated 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 excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to 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