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The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."

He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a assortment of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own projections below.

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

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

Ray, who also plays 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 qualifying.

A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "There's a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.

"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.

"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of 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 at the top of their game and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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 am at this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club 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.

The media 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 attention 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 quite open too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

With the exception of their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.

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