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

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a assortment of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

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

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

A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.

"I overcame 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the best player in the world so defeating 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 impressive 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 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 head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.

Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 the Reds.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.

Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.

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 vulnerable at the back too.

Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, 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 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside from their brilliant 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.

I am expecting that tendency 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 incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding 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