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The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

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

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.

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

Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own projections below.

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

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after 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 stated. "There's a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.

"It is invariably 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, putting the shirt on is something special.

"I beat 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you 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 got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could possibly 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 head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.

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

Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, 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 good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch 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'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 important victory 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 at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.

The media 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 tough one.

You could argue 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 a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - but I do think they can 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Aside from their superb 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.

It is anticipated that 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.

It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.

Many pundits 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 warrants praise too.

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