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The weekend sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play makes me think 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 assortment of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Share your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the scoreboards at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
A group of eight will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative 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 preparation has been going well.
"Representing your country is 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 enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well 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 probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is included 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.
It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so unpredictable. 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 stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do fancy them to 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
We saw 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 outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
