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The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, fans and a assortment of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their scores? Share your own projections below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious 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 by my side and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something special.
"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most logical 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 gut instinct they will take this one 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 great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
Everyone 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 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.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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
Sunderland 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.
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.
The pattern suggests that pattern 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 unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing 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 warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
