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Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"Things are 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 assortment of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram 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 predictions? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

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

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns forty points.

Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

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

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.

"I defeated 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 best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

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

Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea 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 Liverpool.

I was delighted 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 should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.

Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he makes amends.

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

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 a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - but I do fancy 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 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 hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.

The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

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

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.

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