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This Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests.

For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, 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? Feel free to submit your own projections below.

The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the end of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job 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.

"For me he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

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 I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.

Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 am 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 great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their tactical setup 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 reintegrated is if he makes amends.

Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.

You could argue 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 quite open too.

The Merseysiders 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 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 Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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 has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.

All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture