🔗 Share this article

The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a range of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own projections below.

The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is featured in the tables at the end of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.

Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious 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 preparation has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an opportunity 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 over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating 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

Chelsea were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.

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

So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a potent 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 probably back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

Chelsea haven't 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 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'll be at 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 important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 brought back into the fold is if he apologises.

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

One might suggest it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

With the exception of their brilliant 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.

The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element 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 a joy to watch.

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

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