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The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."

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

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

Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their scores? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

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

Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.

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

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.

"I overcame 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 number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.

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

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

Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct 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 the Reds.

I was delighted 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 shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.

They changed their formation 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 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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.

The Merseysiders 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 FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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

The Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Apart from 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.

I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.

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

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.

All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture