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This Sunday sees 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 analyst Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
The analyst is providing forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against artificial intelligence, 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 eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
Do you agree with their predictions? You can make your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the scoreboards at the bottom of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
A group of eight will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a highly sought-after spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It's 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 go into this profession and there is an opportunity to represent England, donning the national jersey 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against Arsenal at the end of November, when they got a draw after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed they've turned a corner, they could potentially be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were overpowered by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a dangerous team.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will win this match 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 fascinating to see what we get from the Reds.
I was delighted 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 ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a icon for the club 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 and two up top.
All the talk 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 attention will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
You could argue 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 vulnerable at the back too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - but I do think they can 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 benefit of a free week while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside from their superb 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.
It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
It was evident how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Many pundits 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 signings of the season and deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture