- Published:
- Comments: 14
The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, the public and a range of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart 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 end of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a six-figure prize fund 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 have a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance 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 recently 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 provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic 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 restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea 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 am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their tactical setup 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 focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
It's fair to say 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 defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I've selected 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
Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
With the exception of their brilliant 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 tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to 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
