🔗 Share this article

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

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."

He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, the public and a assortment of guests.

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

Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the end of this page.

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.

A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after 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 remarked. "I've got a really good coach with me and training has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.

In the matches following, 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 return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they 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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their tactical setup 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 apologises.

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 quite open 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 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 battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser 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.

I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness 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 overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

Commentators 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 best acquisitions and warrants praise too.

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