Sutton's Projections against eSports England Ace Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

The weekend brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?

"Throughout the majority of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.

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

The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a variety of guests.

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

Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.

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

The most popular scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the tables at the foot of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline 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 qualifying.

A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending 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's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions 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.

"I believe he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down 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 lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.

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

They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will take this one 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff 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 bias in his team selection.

Liverpool 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 apologises.

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

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.

Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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 Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

Aside from 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.

The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.

It was evident how relentless 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 phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.

This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture