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This Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging 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 they play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."

Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, fans and a assortment of guests.

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

Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur 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 the national team's Twitch.

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

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the end of this page.

A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.

"I defeated 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were beaten physically 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.

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

Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will win this match 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

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

Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation 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 says sorry.

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

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

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do think they can 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 work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

Apart from their excellent 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 significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

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

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.

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