Sutton's Forecasts against England Gaming Prodigy Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

This Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated pundit Chris Sutton.

"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a real chance."

Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a assortment of guests.

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

Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal 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, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their scores? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.

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

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

Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.

The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a substantial cash prize and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.

"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.

"I beat 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."

Premier League Predictions

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.

However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees 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 probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.

Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.

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

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

Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.

All the talk 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 makes amends.

Slot's focus 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 vulnerable at the back too.

The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.

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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.

Apart from their superb 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.

I am expecting 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' intensity.

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 phenomenal 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 deserves some attention too.

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