🔗 Share this article

The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.

"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, the public and a range of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

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

Do you agree with their forecasts? You can make your own predictions below.

The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.

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

Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a substantial cash prize and a coveted 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 stated. "There's a really good coach with me and preparation has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.

"I overcame 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The Blues were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over 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 the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.

Their key midfielders are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.

They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 Liverpool.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive 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 brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.

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

One might suggest 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 energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do fancy 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 battle intensely 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.

The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

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

Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.

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