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The weekend sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."

He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, fans and a variety of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on 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.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

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

A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who represents Gen City 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 play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, competing 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.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach with 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 actual footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.

"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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

On form you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely 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 gut instinct they 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

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

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

They changed their tactical setup 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 apologises.

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

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 vulnerable at the back too.

Liverpool 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 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 Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves 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 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 key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

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

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

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