- Published:
- Comments: 14
The weekend sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – 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," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests.
For the upcoming matchday, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their scores? Share your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after 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. "There's a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will take this one 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 am at this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
All the talk 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 tough one.
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 winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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
Sunderland 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 brilliant 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.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
