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This Sunday brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," remarked football expert Chris Sutton.
"Things are very different now, and the way they play makes me think they've got a real chance."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, the public and a variety of guests.
For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.
Do you agree with their scores? Share your own predictions below.
The most commonly selected scoreline chosen for each game is used in the tables at the foot of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points.
Ray, who competes for his club side and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualifying.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a knockout format, playing for a six-figure prize fund and a coveted spot in the FC Pro World Championship Play-Ins, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach alongside me and training has been going well.
"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an professional footballer, but when you enter this field and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something unique.
"I beat 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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before.
"For me he is the number one in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Forecasts
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 secured a point after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking they've turned a corner, they could possibly be title contenders.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it won't be easy because the Toffees are such a potent team.
Two of their stars are playing at the top of their game and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
On form you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
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 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.
I was delighted for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot ought not to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend 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 formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top.
Everyone is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be brought back into the fold is if he says sorry.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
It's fair to say 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 quite open too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their efforts at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
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 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 has been inconsistent, especially straight after they've played in the Champions League.
I am expecting that pattern to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside 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
