- Published:
- Comments: 14
This Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a real chance."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"I defeated 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
The media 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 says sorry.
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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - but I do think they can 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 Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away 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 tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to 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
