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

"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.

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

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a variety of guests.

For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Share your own projections 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 (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 points.

Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.

A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.

"It's 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 enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.

"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.

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

Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will win this match because they are at home and they are in need of three points.

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 crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.

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

All the talk 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 makes amends.

Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.

It's fair to say 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 a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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

Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially 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' intensity.

We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.

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