Chris Sutton's Predictions against English Gaming Star Daniel 'The Stingray' Ray

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This Sunday sees the first Wear-Tyne derby since 2024, but which side will celebrate – the Black Cats or the Magpies?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club getting promoted and holding their own with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, let alone being above them in the table," stated football expert Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play leads me to believe they've got a solid shot."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, against AI, the public and a assortment of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is competing for honours for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the EA Sports FC digital Euros finals tournament, which is being held at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

You can watch Uefa's YouTube, Instagram Live and TikTok channels, as well as the official Twitch channel and YouTube and the national team's Twitch.

Are you in alignment with their predictions? Share your own guesses below.

The fan-favourite scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards at the end of this page.

Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns 40 points.

Daniel 'Stingray' Ray with his trainer and team boss.
Half a hundred countries took part in the European esports championship and a mere eight remain. Ray, seen here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, holds the eLions' hopes. England also have competitive gaming squads in the vehicular soccer game and the management simulation.

Ray, who competes for Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the preliminary stage.

Eight players will fly the flag at the finals in a single-elimination, vying for a six-figure prize fund and a prestigious spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang looking to retain the title he won last year.

"My mindset is really good for it," Ray stated. "There's a really good coach alongside me and practice has been going well.

"Representing your country is always an honour to play for your country. Naturally when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an real-life footballer, but when you enter this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something incredible.

"I overcame 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"For me he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just gives you a huge surge of confidence."

Daniel Ray playing.
Ray's sporting hero is Lionel Messi and he feels his game playing style is comparable to his hero. "I utilise a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of incisive passing, so I'd say that is a good comparison," he said. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!"

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

Chelsea were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate after going down to 10 men, and many thought this is it, they could potentially be title contenders.

In the matches following, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got defeated by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So manager Enzo Maresca desperately requires a win here to get back on track, but it will be a challenge because Everton are such a dangerous team.

Their key midfielders are playing exceptionally 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.

They have not given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a gut instinct they will emerge victorious 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 intriguing to see what we get from the Reds.

It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a important victory at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot shouldn't need to put up with that drama. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but fundamentally 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 primary concern will be on winning this game, but it is a tough one.

You could argue it is the same for most teams but I find Brighton so mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are vulnerable at the back 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 taken out of them.

I put a couple of Brighton players in my FPL team, so they will almost certainly blank - but I do think they can 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 week off 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.

I am expecting that trend to continue on Sunday, and their fatigue is likely to be a significant issue in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

We saw how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They dominated the Gunners, and it was amazing to watch.

Commentators talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays next to him, has also been one of the best acquisitions and warrants praise too.

All signs point to this being the best game|most exciting fixture

Billy Jordan
Billy Jordan

Lieke is een ervaren contentstrateeg met een passie voor duurzaamheid en storytelling.