- Published:
- Comments: 14
Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but who will emerge victorious – the Black Cats or Newcastle?
"Throughout the majority of last season, no one would have predicted Sunderland earning promotion and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," commented football expert Chris Sutton.
"The situation is very different now, and the way they play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, 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 eLions – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation European esports championship finals tournament, which takes place at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's YouTube, IG 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? Share your own projections below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the foot of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. The exact score earns forty points.
Ray, who also plays his club side and Manchester City as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after getting through 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.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach alongside 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 go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something unique.
"I overcame 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.
"I believe he is the best player in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just delivers a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Weekend Preview
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
The London club were outstanding 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 possibly be challengers for the crown.
Since then, however, they were outfought by Leeds, looked flat 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 restore momentum, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a dangerous team.
Their key midfielders are playing really well and they have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would likely back the visitors, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling they will win this match 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 am at this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from Liverpool.
I am really pleased for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a great win at Inter Milan on Tuesday following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but at its core 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 formation and two up top.
All the talk 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 makes amends.
Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a difficult fixture.
One might suggest 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.
Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have affected their stamina.
I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will probably lose now - 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
Sunderland have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.
Aside 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 pattern to continue on Sunday, and their lack of freshness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' high press.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been superb, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture
