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

"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a real chance."

He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, fans and a range of guests.

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

Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel 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 fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the tables at the end of this page.

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

Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.

Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an actual footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.

"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 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 delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. 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.

They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 says sorry.

Slot's attention 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 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 winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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 opportunity to rest 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 poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered 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 superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.

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