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The weekend sees the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a solid shot."

Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans and a variety of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on 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 European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their predictions? Share your own predictions below.

The most commonly selected scoreline picked 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 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.

"I overcame 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 best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.

However, since that game, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

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

Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 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 controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

They changed their shape 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 selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.

Slot's attention 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 mercurial. 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 affected their stamina.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Apart 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.

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' intensity.

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

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

This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture