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Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, readers and a assortment of guests.

For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

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

The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.

Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

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

"It is invariably 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 enter 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 throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion 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 London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat 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 return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

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

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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'll be at this game and it will be intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their formation 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 selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.

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

It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I've selected 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

Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless 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 outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.

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