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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a range of guests.
For week 16, he faces off against 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 European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? You can make your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the scoreboards at the foot of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"I defeated 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.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten 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 Everton are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton 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 am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they 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 the Reds.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
All the talk 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 makes amends.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool 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 likely do poorly - but I do fancy them to 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 exert themselves 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 has been poor, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
