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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests.
For week 16, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? Feel free to submit your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally 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 incredible.
"I overcame 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the best player in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because Everton are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably 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 feeling Chelsea will win this match 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'm attending 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 important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 makes amends.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.
It's fair to say 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 defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, 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
The Wearside club 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.
Aside from their excellent 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.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
It was evident how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to 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
