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Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

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

He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, fans and a assortment of guests.

For week 16, 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 formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own guesses below.

The most popular scoreline selected 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. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.

Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside 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 real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey 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 always lost to 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 delivers a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.

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

So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

On form you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal 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 focus will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.

You could argue 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 quite open too.

Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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

The Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard 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 inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding 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.

I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture