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This Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.

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

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

For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.

A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.

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

"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 provides a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.

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

Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely 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 they 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.

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

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but at its core 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.

Everyone 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 focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.

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 defensively susceptible too.

The Merseysiders 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 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

Aside from their brilliant 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.

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

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to 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