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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, the public and a variety of guests.
For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the end of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "There's a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"I overcame 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.
"For me he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a dangerous 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 likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely 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 gut instinct 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted 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 should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 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 defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - but I do fancy 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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves 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 hasn't been great, 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 Sunderland's high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Commentators 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 best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
