- Published:
- Comments: 14
The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated analyst 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 predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a assortment of guests.
For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline selected 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 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"I overcame 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"I believe 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 Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point 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 overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely 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 they will emerge victorious 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'm attending this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
The media 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 makes amends.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
One might suggest 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 defensively susceptible 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 almost certainly blank - 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
Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard 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 hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue 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 dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, 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
