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

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion 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 they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by 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 gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG 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 forecasts? Share your own projections below.

The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the end of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.

Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "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. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.

"I defeated 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.

"For me he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a dangerous team.

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

On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will emerge victorious because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.

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 Liverpool.

It was great to see 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 should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

They changed their formation 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 reintegrated is if he makes amends.

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

You could argue 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 defensively susceptible too.

Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

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

The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant 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 phenomenal 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 warrants praise too.

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