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The weekend brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, readers and a assortment 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 official esports team – at the gaming title Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place 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 YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is featured in the leaderboards at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns 40 points.
Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The Blues 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 potentially be title contenders.
However, since that game, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to get back on track, but it is a tough ask because Everton 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 going against logic.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will emerge victorious 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 am at 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 following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
They 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 included for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
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.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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.
With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue 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 bullied the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and warrants praise too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
