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

"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a real chance."

He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, the public and a variety of guests.

For week 16, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.

The most popular scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.

Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

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

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this job 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.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

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

In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat 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 restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a threatening team.

Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

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

The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they 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 after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for the club 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 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 brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.

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

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 vulnerable at the back 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 taken out of them.

I've selected 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

The Black Cats have had the week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Apart from their excellent 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 trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding 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 warrants praise too.

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