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The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, readers 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 eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video 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 guesses below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 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 preliminary stage.
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 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 remarked. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is 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 job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.
"I overcame 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection 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 secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will win this match 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 Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
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 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 taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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
Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
