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Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a solid shot."

He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, readers and a range of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

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

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

Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten 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 successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously 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, donning the national jersey is something unique.

"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.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you 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 earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a threatening team.

Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

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

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

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

Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

They 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 included for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.

Slot's primary concern 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 quite open 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 drained them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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

The Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly 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 factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding 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.

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