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Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.
For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Obviously 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 opportunity to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor 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 London club were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will win this match because they are at home and they are in need of three points.
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 am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias 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 back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's focus 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 quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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 week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
