🔗 Share this article Sutton's Forecasts against English Gaming Prodigy Daniel 'Stingray' Ray Published: 36 minutes ago Comments: 14 The weekend heralds the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies? "During the bulk of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," commented pundit Chris Sutton. "It is 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 campaign, against artificial intelligence, fans and a range of guests. For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray. Ray is going for glory for the England's esports team – 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. You can watch Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and YouTube and the national team's Twitch. Are you in alignment with their forecasts? Feel free to submit your own guesses below. The most popular scoreline picked for each game is used in the leaderboards at the end of this page. A correct result (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth ten points. A perfect prediction earns forty points. Numerous entrants competed in the European esports championship and just eight remain. Ray, pictured here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, holds the team's ambitions. England also have competitive gaming squads in Rocket League and Football Manager. Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is entering the fray at the eEuros finals after getting through the preliminary stage. A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a single-elimination, playing 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 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. Obviously when you are younger, you fantasise about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you pursue a career in this field 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 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 best player in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence." Ray's favourite real-life player is Lionel Messi and he believes his virtual football style is comparable to his hero. "My style involves a bit of skill and I like to play with a bit of incisive passing, so I'd say that is fair," he explained. "I'm pleased with that comparison!" Premier League Predictions Saturday, 13 December Chelsea vs Everton Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT The London club were outstanding against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and I was thinking this is it, they could potentially be title contenders. However, since that game, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got turned over by Atalanta in the Champions League. So head coach Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it won't be easy because the Merseyside club are such a dangerous team. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing exceptionally and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment. Based on recent performances you would likely back the visitors, while the most logical prediction would likely be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind. The Blues have failed to given me any real reason to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea will take this one 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'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 following all the discussion with Mohamed Salah this week. Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a great for the club but essentially Slot just wants to win games and there is no ulterior motive in his team selection. They changed their tactical setup 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 reintegrated is if he apologises. Slot's attention 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. Liverpool need to get back to stringing wins together, but I am not sure how much their exertions at the San Siro will have drained them. I have whacked a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, so they will likely do poorly - 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 battle intensely against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on. Apart from their brilliant performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form hasn't been great, particularly straight after they've played in the Champions League. It is anticipated that that trend to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a key element in how this game goes because of their rivals' energetic style. Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was incredible to watch. Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been phenomenal for the Black Cats, and he has been excellent, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and should be recognised too. This promises to be this being the best game|most exciting fixture