🔗 Share this article

The weekend heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a assortment of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

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

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score 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 preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors 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 Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.

"I beat Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him recently 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 number one in the world so getting a win over 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

The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible 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 gut instinct they 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 intriguing 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 after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

Liverpool 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 included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.

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 quite open too.

Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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

Sunderland have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Aside from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, 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.

It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.

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