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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against 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 official esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? Share your own predictions below.

The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach by my side and preparation 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 enter this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.

"I overcame Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

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 going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a potent team.

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

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

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they 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'm attending 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 great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion 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 at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.

Slot's attention 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 drained them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

With the exception of their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

It was evident how relentless 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 in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.

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