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Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a range of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held 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 the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? You can make your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction 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 passing the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something special.
"I beat 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the top competitor 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 excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably 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 they will take this one 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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for the club 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 brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
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 quite open too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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
The Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Aside from their brilliant 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.
I am expecting that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated 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 phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
