- Published:
- Comments: 14
This Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, the public and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros 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 EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"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 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 provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will take this one because they are at home and they are in need of three points.
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 am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon 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 formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
You could argue 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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool 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 have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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
Sunderland have had the week off 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 their rivals' energetic style.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
