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The weekend heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, fans and a variety of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their forecasts? You can make your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the leaderboards at the end of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a straight knockout, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.
"I defeated 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so beating 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
The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
They have not given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they 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 the Reds.
It was great to see 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 icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
All the talk is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he makes amends.
Slot's primary concern 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.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent 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
Sunderland 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.
Aside from their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that 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 energetic style.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
