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The weekend sees the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority 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," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a range of guests.
For week 16, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the football simulation Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the end 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 knockout format, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach by my side and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to return to winning ways, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing at the top of their game and Everton 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'm going against logic.
They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will emerge victorious 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 am 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 shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their tactical setup against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
The media 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 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 quite open too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have drained 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
Sunderland 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.
Apart from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly 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 significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how incessant 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 brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
