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Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a assortment of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Share your own predictions below.

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

Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.

A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a six-figure prize fund 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.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach with me and training 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 actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.

"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.

"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over 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

The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

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

So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team.

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

On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will emerge victorious 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 discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

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

The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.

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 defensively susceptible 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 put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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

The Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Aside from their excellent 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 trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.

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