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Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests.

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

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

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

Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.

The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is used in the leaderboards at the end of this page.

A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.

A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "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. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.

"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 never beaten 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 gives you a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were beaten physically 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 the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.

Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

On form you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical 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 feeling they 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'm attending 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 great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.

They changed their formation 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 brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.

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

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.

Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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

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

Aside from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, 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 significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

It was evident how relentless 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 best acquisitions and should be recognised too.

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