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Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a real chance."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a assortment of guests.
For week 16, he faces off against 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 takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their scores? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline selected 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 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach by my side and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you go into 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 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 number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just provides a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Two of their stars are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
The Blues have failed to given me any real reason 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 intriguing 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 after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 reintegrated is if he apologises.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
It's fair to say 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 winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.
I have whacked 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
Sunderland have had the week off while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to let their lead slip away late on.
Apart from their brilliant 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 trend 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.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
