- Published:
- Comments: 14
This Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on 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.
Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is used in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach with me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"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 provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
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 being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they 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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
They changed their formation 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 reintegrated 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.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated 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 excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
