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Sunday brings the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging 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 leads me to believe they've got a real chance."
The analyst is providing predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, readers 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 official esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and England's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Share your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline selected for each game is displayed on the leaderboards at the end of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after passing the qualifying.
The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I have a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"It's always an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this job and there is an chance to represent England, donning the national jersey is something unique.
"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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were excellent against the Gunners at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after being reduced to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could possibly be title contenders.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Based on recent performances you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably 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 they will emerge victorious because they are at home and they are due a win.
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 discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their shape 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 included for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he apologises.
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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their energy spent at the San Siro will have drained them.
I've selected a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will almost certainly blank - 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 exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
Apart from their brilliant 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.
The pattern suggests that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.
We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture