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Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a assortment of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Share your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is featured in 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 Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have 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 pursue a career in this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"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.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they 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'm attending this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
They changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation 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 reintegrated is if he says sorry.
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 vulnerable at the back 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 affected their stamina.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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
Sunderland have had the week off 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 hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Everyone 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.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
