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Sunday sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a real chance."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, the public and a assortment of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur 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.
Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing 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 successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"I beat Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him recently just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge 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 here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will emerge victorious because they are at home and they are in need of three points.
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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
All the talk 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 challenging encounter.
One might suggest 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 affected their stamina.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will probably lose now - 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
Sunderland have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Apart from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
