🔗 Share this article

The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?

"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented analyst Chris Sutton.

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

Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, fans and a range of guests.

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

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

The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.

The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.

Ray, who competes for his club side 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 single-elimination, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice 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 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 beat 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.

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

Premier League Weekend Preview

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.

Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired 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 is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of form at the moment.

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

The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will take this one 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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.

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

Liverpool 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 selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he makes amends.

Slot's focus 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 hard to predict. 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 exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.

I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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

Sunderland have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Aside from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.

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

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

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.

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