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Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans and a range 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 recognised esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the bottom 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 also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"I beat 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.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
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 this is it, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will emerge victorious 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 interesting to see what we get from the Reds.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their shape 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 included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained 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
Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest 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 hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
