🔗 Share this article Sutton's Predictions vying with England Gaming Prodigy Daniel 'The Stingray' Ray Published: Over half an hour ago Comments: 14 This Sunday heralds the inaugural Wear-Tyne derby after 2024, but will it be – the Black Cats or Newcastle? "For most of last season, it was unthinkable Sunderland earning promotion and challenging with Eddie Howe's Newcastle, much less being above them in the table," remarked pundit Chris Sutton. "The situation is very different now, and the way Sunderland play makes me think they've got a genuine opportunity." The analyst is providing scoreline guesses for all 380 Premier League games this campaign, in competition with artificial intelligence, readers and a assortment of guests. For the upcoming matchday, he takes on England Gaming star Daniel 'Stingray' Ray. Ray is vying for victory for the England's esports team – the Football Association's recognised esports team – at the EA Sports FC European esports championship finals tournament, which will occur at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday. The action will be streamed on Uefa's YouTube, IG Live and TikTok channels, as well as EA Sports FC Twitch and its YouTube counterpart and the national team's Twitch. What are your thoughts with their scores? Share your own predictions below. The most popular scoreline chosen for each game is used in the tables at the foot of this page. Predicting the right outcome (choosing a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. An accurate scoreline earns forty points. Numerous entrants entered the Uefa EA Sports FC eEuros and a mere eight remain. Ray, shown here with his trainer and England Gaming team manager Denman, bears the nation's aspirations. England also have competitive gaming squads in Rocket League and Football Manager. Ray, who represents Gen City and the Premier League champions as well as England, is competing for the first time at the eEuros finals after passing the qualification rounds. A group of eight will represent their nations at the finals in a knockout format, vying for a $100,000 prize pool and a prestigious spot in the world finals play-offs, with Denmark's Anders Vejrgang defending the title he won last year. "I'm feeling really good for it," Ray stated. "I have a really good coach by my side and training has been going well. "It is invariably an honour to play for your country. Obviously when you are younger, you imagine doing it as an professional footballer, but when you go into this profession and there is an chance to represent England, putting the shirt on is something special. "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 not previously defeated him in a tournament before. "I believe he is the top competitor in the world so beating him in a tournament like this just gives you a massive injection of confidence." Ray's footballing idol is Lionel Messi and he feels his game playing style is comparable to his hero. "My style involves a bit of skill and I like to play with a bit of vision, so I'd say that is a good comparison," he explained. "I'm quite happy with that comparison!" Premier League Weekend Preview Saturday, 13 December Chelsea vs Everton Stamford Bridge, 15:00 GMT The Blues were impressive against the Gunners at the end of November, when they got a draw after going down to 10 men, and many thought here we go, they could possibly be title contenders. Since then, however, they were beaten physically by Leeds, looked uninspired against Bournemouth and this week got beaten by Atalanta in the Champions League. So head coach Enzo Maresca is in need of a win here to restore momentum, but it is a tough ask because Everton are such a potent team. Two of their stars are playing really well and they have got a bit of a positive run at the moment. On form you would probably back Everton, while the most prudent prediction would probably be a draw, but I'm throwing caution to the wind. The Blues have failed to given me any good cause to back them recently, but I just have a feeling Chelsea 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'm attending this game and it will be fascinating to see what we get from the Reds. It was great to see for Reds boss Arne Slot to get such a crucial result at Inter Milan on Tuesday after all the stuff with Mohamed Salah this week. Slot should not have to put up with that distraction. I know Salah has been a legend for the club but at its core Slot just wants to win games and there is nothing personal in his team selection. Liverpool changed their shape against Inter and went with a midfield diamond formation and two up top. The media is going to be talking about whether Salah is back for this game, but the only way he is going to be reintegrated is if he makes amends. Slot's focus will be on winning this game, but it is a challenging encounter. One might suggest 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 efforts at the San Siro will have drained them. I put a couple of Brighton players in my Fantasy Premier League side, 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 work so hard against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only to concede a late equaliser late on. Aside from their excellent performance against Everton a couple of weeks ago, Newcastle's away form has been poor, 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 Sunderland's high press. Their match against Arsenal demonstrated how unwavering Regis le Bris's side are. They overpowered the Gunners, and it was a joy to watch. Everyone talks about how Granit Xhaka has been outstanding for the Black Cats, and he has been brilliant, but Noah Sadiki, who plays alongside 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