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The weekend brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.

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

Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

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

The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a $100,000 prize pool 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 stated. "I've got a really good coach with 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 professional footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.

"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.

"For me he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired 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 restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a threatening team.

Their key midfielders are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

On form you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will win this match 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.

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

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 vulnerable at the back too.

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

I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

Aside from their superb 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 tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

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