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Sunday heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against AI, the public and a variety of guests.
For week 16, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
Viewers can catch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and England's Twitch.
Are you in alignment with their forecasts? You can make your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the tables at the end of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will play for their countries at the finals in a single-elimination, playing for a six-figure prize fund 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.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray remarked. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.
"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him over the course of the season just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd never beaten him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
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 secured a point after being reduced to 10 men, and it seemed here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a potent team.
Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would likely back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
Chelsea haven't given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will win this match 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 crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
They changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 brought back into the fold is if he apologises.
Slot's focus 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 quite open too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have taken out of them.
I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 week off while Newcastle had to battle intensely 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 has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
It is anticipated that that trend 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' high press.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering 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 outstanding 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 deserves some attention too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
