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The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."

The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against 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 will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

What are your thoughts with their scores? Share your own projections below.

The most popular scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the end of this page.

A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.

"I beat 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.

"For me he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.

Two of their stars 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 sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will take this one 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'm attending 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 crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need 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.

They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation 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 brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.

Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.

You could argue 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 defensively susceptible too.

Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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

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.

With the exception of their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

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

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.

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