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Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against 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 national gaming squad – 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 video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own projections below.

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

Getting the win/draw/loss right (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 getting through the preliminary stage.

Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

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

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.

"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.

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

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally 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'm throwing caution to the wind.

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will take this one 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'll be at this game and it will be interesting 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 following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.

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

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 vulnerable at the back 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 taken out of them.

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 week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back 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 tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.

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