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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and being competitive 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 scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a variety of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the tables at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into this job 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 throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after 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 Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal 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 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 challenging encounter.
It's fair to say it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts 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 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
The Wearside club 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.
With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Many pundits 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 signings of the season and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
