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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a variety of guests.

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

Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

Do you agree with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.

The most popular scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the tables at the foot of this page.

A correct result (picking 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 competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.

A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach by my side and preparation 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 professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field 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 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 crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of 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 at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

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

Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will take this one because they are at home and they are in need of three points.

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 am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

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

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 quite open too.

Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, 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

Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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 has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

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

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal 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 warrants praise too.

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