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The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a variety of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur 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 its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own projections below.

The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.

"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 beating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum 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 feeling 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.

I am really pleased 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 drama. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their shape 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 attention 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back too.

Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Black Cats have had the week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.

Aside from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to 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