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This Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, the public and a assortment of guests.
For week 16, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their predictions? You can make your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative 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 practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over 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
Chelsea were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired 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 restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible 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 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.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They 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 attention will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
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 taken out of them.
I put 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 work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from their brilliant 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.
It is anticipated that that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
