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Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.

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

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

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

Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

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

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction 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 qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after 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 said. "There's a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.

"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated 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 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 secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.

In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic 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 restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a potent team.

Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely 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 Chelsea will win this match 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 am at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following 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.

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 primary concern 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 vulnerable at the back 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 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 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 lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.

Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible 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 next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.

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