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This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or the Magpies?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club earning promotion and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked analyst Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
He is offering scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this season, against artificial intelligence, the public and a range of guests.
For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the eLions – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the EA Sports FC Uefa eEuro 2025 finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.
The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is featured in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the qualification rounds.
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 prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray said. "I've got a really good coach with me and preparation 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 actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.
"I defeated Vejrgang 9-4 in qualifying to get here. I've played against him throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just provides 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 here we go, they could potentially be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked lethargic 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 get back on track, but it is a tough ask because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of form at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will take this one 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 fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection.
They changed their shape 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 reintegrated is if he makes amends.
Slot's primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter.
One might suggest it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so unpredictable. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
Liverpool need to get back to winning consistently, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained them.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will likely do poorly - 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 Black Cats 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.
With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw 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 phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.
I am expecting this being the best game|most exciting fixture
