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The weekend brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland rising to the top flight and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a real chance."
He is offering forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with artificial intelligence, fans and a variety of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the eLions – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is featured in the tables at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative 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 by my side and training 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 professional footballer, but when you enter this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.
In the matches following, 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 is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I am not going to be sensible.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct Chelsea will take this one 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 intriguing to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They changed their formation 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 reintegrated is if he says sorry.
Slot's focus 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.
The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from their brilliant 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.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's intensity.
It was evident how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
