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Sunday sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated 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, in competition with AI, fans 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 England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, 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 predictions? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is used in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach with me and training 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 pursue a career in this field and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something incredible.
"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the top competitor in the world so beating 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
The London club were outstanding against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
They have not 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'll be at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result 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 great for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup 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 reintegrated is if he says sorry.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
One might suggest it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so unpredictable. 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 energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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 inconsistent, especially 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 their rivals' high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Commentators 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 top transfers and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
