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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? You can make your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a substantial cash prize and a highly sought-after spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach by my side and practice 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 actual footballer, but when you enter 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 throughout the year 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 beating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they 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 probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will win this match 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 am 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 important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's primary concern 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 defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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 Black Cats have had the benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Apart from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, 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 significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture