- Published:
- Comments: 14
This Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the end of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after 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 alongside me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.
"I overcame 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 beating 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
The Blues were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably 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'll be at 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 after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 says sorry.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.
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 Black Cats have had the week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of their excellent 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 tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing 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 in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
