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The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

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

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a assortment 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 formal esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

Do you agree with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own projections below.

The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an chance 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 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 top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

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 due a win.

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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.

The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.

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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.

The Merseysiders 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 affected their stamina.

I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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

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

Aside from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing 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 alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.

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