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

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.

For week 16, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok 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? You can make your own guesses below.

The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the tables at the end of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.

Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

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

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on 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.

"For me he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a dangerous 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 probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will emerge victorious 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.

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

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

They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation 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 apologises.

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

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 vulnerable at the back too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard 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.

It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy 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 in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

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