🔗 Share this article

This Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a real chance."

The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, the public 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 recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own guesses below.

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the tables at the foot of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.

A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.

"Representing your country is always 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 field and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.

"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.

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

So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton 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.

Current evidence suggests you would likely 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 real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting 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 following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great 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 formation 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 apologises.

Slot's primary concern 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 defensively susceptible 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 drained them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - but I do fancy 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

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

The pattern suggests that pattern 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 high press.

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

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

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