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

"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."

Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a assortment of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, 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 EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

Are you in alignment with their scores? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

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

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

Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach with me and training has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job 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 recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

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

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

They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

I was delighted 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 the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

Everyone 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 tough one.

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 winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do fancy 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

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

It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy 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 next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

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