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The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

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

He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, 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 competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG 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? Share your own guesses below.

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

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

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

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.

"I defeated 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.

"I believe he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

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

Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will win this match 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 am at this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. 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 formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.

All the talk 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 makes amends.

Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.

It's fair to say 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 winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - but I do fancy them to 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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

With the exception of their superb 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.

It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied 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 excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with 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