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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests.
For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after 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 stated. "There's a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"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 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 delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic 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 get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will take this one because they are at home and they are overdue a victory.
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 Liverpool.
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 ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for the club 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.
The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.
Slot's attention 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 unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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
The Black Cats have had the week off 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 has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that 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 Sunderland's 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 excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
