- Published:
- Comments: 14
Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.
"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely 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 hunch Chelsea will win this match 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'm attending this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
I am really pleased 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 shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.
Slot's primary concern 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 unpredictable. 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 energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - but I do fancy them to 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 Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from their brilliant 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 pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
