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Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."

Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a assortment of guests.

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

Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised 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, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.

The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is used in the leaderboards at the bottom 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 represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an chance 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.

In the matches following, 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 will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.

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

Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible 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 they 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 fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.

I was delighted 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 should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

The media 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.

You could argue 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 defensively susceptible too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of 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 week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

With the exception of their superb 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.

I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.

I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture