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The weekend sees the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but will it be – Sunderland or Newcastle?
"During the bulk of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and being competitive with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton.
"It is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity."
Sutton is making forecasts for all 380 Premier League games this season, in competition with AI, readers and a variety of guests.
For week 16, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.
Ray is competing for honours for the England's esports team – the Football Association's formal esports team – at the gaming title European esports championship finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram 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? Feel free to submit your own guesses below.
The most popular scoreline picked for each game is used in the tables at the bottom of this page.
Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns 40 points.
Ray, who also plays Gen City and Manchester City as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage.
The final eight competitors will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, competing for a substantial cash prize and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.
"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "I've got a really good coach with me and practice has been going well.
"It is invariably 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 enter this profession and there is an opportunity 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 always lost to him in a tournament before.
"In my opinion he is the number one in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just delivers a crazy boost of confidence."
Premier League Predictions
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 many thought here we go, they could possibly be challengers for the crown.
In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.
So manager Enzo Maresca really needs a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because the Toffees are such a threatening team.
Their key midfielders are playing at the top of their game and Everton have got a bit of momentum at the moment.
On form you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.
The Blues have failed to given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they 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'm attending 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 crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.
Slot should not have to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a great for the club but fundamentally Slot just wants to win games and there is no bias in his team selection.
Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond 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 brought back into the fold is if he makes amends.
Slot's focus 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 hard to predict. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are defensively susceptible too.
The Merseysiders need to get back to winning consistently, 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 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
Sunderland have had the week off 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, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League.
The pattern suggests that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of their rivals' intensity.
We saw how incessant Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered 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 excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the top transfers and should be recognised too.
All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture
