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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers and a assortment of guests.
For week 16, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline picked for each game is used in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a $100,000 prize pool 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 said. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"I overcame 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.
"For me he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs 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 really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will take this one 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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
They changed their shape 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 brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
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 defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do fancy 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 week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
With the exception of 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.
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 their rivals' intensity.
We saw how relentless 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 outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
