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The weekend heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

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

The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.

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

Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach with me and training has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine 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 defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a threatening team.

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

Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent 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 gut instinct 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.

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 should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend 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 and two up top.

All the talk 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 makes amends.

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

You could argue 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.

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

I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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

Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

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

We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated 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 alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.

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