- Published:
- Comments: 14
Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats 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, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the tables at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm 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 imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"I overcame 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 massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced 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 beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 am at this game and it will be intriguing 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 after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally 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.
All the talk 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 makes amends.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
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.
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 put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Apart from their excellent 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.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
