🔗 Share this article

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

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing 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 competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation 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 TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their scores? Share your own predictions below.

The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.

A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.

A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach by my side and preparation 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 job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.

"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 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 gives you a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team.

Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match 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 fascinating 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 icon for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 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.

Liverpool 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 have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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.

Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy 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 signings of the season and should be recognised too.

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