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The weekend heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, readers 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 eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.

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

A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.

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

Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach with me and training has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.

"I defeated 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.

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

On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will win this match 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

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

Slot shouldn't need 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 no bias in his team selection.

Liverpool 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 makes amends.

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

It's fair to say 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 quite open too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless 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 brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.

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