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This Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, readers and a variety of guests.

For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

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

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own projections below.

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.

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

Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach alongside me and training 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 real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.

"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 crazy boost of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

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

Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they 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'm attending 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 great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation 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 reintegrated is if he makes amends.

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

One might suggest 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 quite open 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 have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves 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 hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.

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

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

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