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The weekend brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a variety 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 football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their scores? Feel free to submit your own projections below.

The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the tables at the end of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.

Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.

"It's always 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 go into this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.

"I defeated 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.

"For me he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.

Their key midfielders are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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 fascinating 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 stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

They changed their shape 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 brought back into the fold is if he apologises.

Slot's focus 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 mercurial. 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 winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard 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 has been poor, especially 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 factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.

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