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

"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they 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 week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

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

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the end of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.

A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

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

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.

"I defeated 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

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 it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.

In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

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

Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will win this match because they are at home and they are due a win.

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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.

Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.

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

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 vulnerable at the back 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 have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do fancy them to 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside from their excellent 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 tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture