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Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a real chance."

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.

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

Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place 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.

Are you in alignment with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the foot of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about 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 special.

"I defeated 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.

"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten 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 exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.

On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

The Blues have failed to given me any good cause 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 am at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.

I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following 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 formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.

All the talk 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 difficult fixture.

It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so unpredictable. 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 efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Apart from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that 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 energetic style.

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

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.

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