🔗 Share this article

Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.

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

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.

For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against 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 Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own projections below.

The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.

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

Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.

"I defeated 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

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 secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

However, since that game, however, they were outfought 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 restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

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

Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling 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 interesting to see what we get from the Reds.

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 shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but fundamentally 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 formation and two up top.

Everyone 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 tough one.

You could argue 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 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 taken out of them.

I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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

The Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week 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.

The pattern suggests 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 intensity.

We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Commentators 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 best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

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