- Published:
- Comments: 14
This Sunday heralds the initial Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but who will emerge victorious – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"For most of last season, no one would have predicted the Wearside club getting promoted and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way they play leads me to believe they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, the public and a assortment of guests.
For week 16, he faces off against England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is vying for victory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's formal 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 YouTube, IG Live and short-form video channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.
What are your thoughts with their predictions? Share your own projections below.
The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is used in the tables at the end of this page.
A correct result (selecting a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who represents Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after successfully navigating the preliminary stage.
Eight players will play for their countries at the finals in a straight knockout, vying for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.
"I am feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have 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 professional footballer, but when you enter this job 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 throughout the year just in practice, and in other tournaments before - but I'd always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so getting a win over him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
Saturday, 13 December
Chelsea vs Everton
Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT
Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they secured a point after going down 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 boss Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team.
Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment.
Current evidence suggests you would probably back the visitors, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind.
Chelsea haven't given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch they will win this match because they are at home and they are in need of three points.
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 shouldn't need to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for Liverpool but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their formation against Inter and went with a midfield diamond and two up top.
Everyone 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 primary concern 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 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 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
The Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on.
With the exception of their superb performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, 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 factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.
Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays in midfield with him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and deserves some attention too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
