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This Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 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 being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a real chance."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

The most popular scoreline selected for each game is used in the leaderboards at the end of this page.

A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, playing 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.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.

"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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 intriguing 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 following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool 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 and two up top.

All the talk 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 apologises.

Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.

One might suggest 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 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 taken out of them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard 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 has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.

All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture