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Sunday brings the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a range of guests.
For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur 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 its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? You can make your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the tables at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty 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 qualification rounds.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations 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 am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you pursue a career in this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special.
"I defeated 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.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over 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 is a tough ask because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye 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 logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting to see what we get from Liverpool.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory 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 icon for Liverpool but essentially 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.
The media 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 challenging encounter.
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 defensively susceptible 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 taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Aside from their superb 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.
The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside 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
