Sutton's Forecasts vying with eSports England Star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray

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The weekend brings the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but which side will celebrate – Sunderland or the Magpies?

"Throughout the majority of last season, you couldn't have imagined the Wearside club rising to the top flight and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, never mind being above them in the table," stated analyst Chris Sutton.

"The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play convinces me they've got a genuine opportunity."

He is offering predictions for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with AI, fans and a assortment of guests.

For this weekend's fixtures, he is challenged by England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray.

Ray is going for glory for the national gaming squad – the Football Association's official esports team – at the football simulation digital Euros finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The action will be streamed on Uefa's video platform, Instagram Live and short-form video channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and England's Twitch.

Do you agree with their scores? You can make your own predictions below.

The most commonly selected scoreline picked for each game is displayed on the tables at the bottom of this page.

Getting the win/draw/loss right (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

Daniel 'Stingray' Ray alongside his coach and manager.
Half a hundred countries competed in the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and a mere eight remain. Ray, shown here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, carries the team's ambitions. England also have competitive gaming squads in the vehicular soccer game and the management simulation.

Ray, who also plays Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is making his debut at the eEuros finals after getting through the qualification rounds.

The final eight competitors will fly the flag at the finals in a knockout format, competing for a $100,000 prize pool and a coveted spot in the global championship qualifiers, with the Danish representative Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year.

"I'm feeling really good for it," Ray remarked. "I have a really good coach alongside me and preparation has been going well.

"It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Of course when you are younger, you dream about doing it as an actual footballer, but when you go into this job and there is an chance to represent England, wearing the Three Lions is something incredible.

"I overcame 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 never beaten him in a tournament before.

"In my opinion he is the top competitor in the world so defeating him in a tournament like this just provides a massive injection of confidence."

Stingray playing.
Ray's footballing idol is Lionel Messi and he thinks his game playing style is reminiscent of his hero. "I play with a bit of flair and I like to play with a bit of incisive passing, so I'd say that is accurate," he explained. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!"

Premier League Forecasts

Saturday, 13 December

Chelsea vs Everton

Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT

The London club were impressive against Arsenal at the end of November, when they earned a stalemate 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 outfought by Leeds, looked flat against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League.

So boss Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to return to winning ways, but it will be a challenge because the Merseyside club are such a threatening team.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye are playing really well and Everton have got a bit of form at the moment.

Based on recent performances you would probably back Everton, while the most sensible prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm going against logic.

They have not given me any compelling evidence to back them recently, but I just have a hunch Chelsea will take this one 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'm attending this game and it will be interesting 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 controversy with Mohamed Salah this week.

Slot should not have to put up with that nonsense. I know Salah has been a icon for the club but essentially 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 and two up top.

The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is selected for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he says sorry.

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 mercurial. I always feel they have got a goal in them, but they are quite open too.

Liverpool need to get back to a consistent run of form, but I am not sure how much their efforts 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 almost certainly blank - 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

The Black Cats have had the opportunity to rest while Newcastle had to exert themselves against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to be pegged back late on.

With the exception of 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.

The pattern suggests that tendency to continue on Sunday, and their tiredness is likely to be a factor in how this game goes because of Sunderland's energetic style.

We saw how relentless Regis le Bris's side are. They bullied the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch.

Many pundits talks about how Granit Xhaka has been brilliant for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside him, has also been one of the signings of the season and should be recognised too.

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

Veronica Smith
Veronica Smith

Liam Voss is a seasoned business strategist and digital transformation expert with over 15 years of experience in global markets.