🔗 Share this article

Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone 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."

He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is used in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.

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

Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "There's 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 go into this job and there is an opportunity 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 throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.

However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a potent team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will emerge victorious 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 interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.

I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

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

All the talk 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 says sorry.

Slot's attention 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 defensively susceptible too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I put 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

The Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside 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.

I am expecting that trend 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 intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant 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 excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

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