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

"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 analyst Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, fans and a variety of guests.

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

Ray is competing for honours 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.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

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

Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score 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 passing the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"My mindset is 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. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"I believe 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 Blues were excellent against Arsenal 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 challengers for the crown.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.

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

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

They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will win this match because they are at home and they are due a win.

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'm attending 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 after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

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

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

Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.

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 vulnerable at the back too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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

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

Aside from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.

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