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The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch 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 forecasts? Share your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a straight knockout, 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.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach by my side and training has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about 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 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
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 being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will take this one 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 fascinating 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 great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They 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 selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
One might suggest 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 quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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 Wearside club have had the week off while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's high press.
It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
