🔗 Share this article

This Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."

He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.

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

Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

The most popular scoreline selected for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.

Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach alongside me and preparation 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 professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance 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 throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated him in a tournament before.

"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

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

So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.

Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match because they are at home and they are due a win.

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 fascinating 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 controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend 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 and two up top.

All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.

Slot's focus 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 quite open too.

The Merseysiders 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 FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside from their superb 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.

I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.

It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant 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 should be recognised too.

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