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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, 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 formal 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, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline 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 qualification rounds.
Eight players will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch 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'll be at this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool 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 formation and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.
Slot's focus 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 efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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
The Wearside club have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
