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Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind 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 genuine opportunity."

Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel 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 chosen for each game is used in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.

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

Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.

"I beat 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.

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

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a threatening team.

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

Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will take this one because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.

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 Liverpool.

It was great to see 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 shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but at its core 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.

Everyone 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 apologises.

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

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 defensively susceptible too.

Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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 poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing 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 alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.

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